A unified standard for offshore: European Commission takes action on tax evasion

07.12.2012

The aim of the European Commission today is to create an effective plan of action to help combat tax evasion. The plan includes the development and introduction of the Code of the taxpayer, the Common EU tax identification number, and the revision and updating of the existing key tax legislation.

In addition, the European Commission in the framework of the adopted special recommendations to combat tax havens has proposed to introduce common standards for determining offshore. It is assumed that on the basis of these standards offshore jurisdictions will be included in the national "black lists" and they will apply the harmonized sanctions.

On the basis of: http://ec.europa.eu/

Expert’s opinion

"The idea is excellent. But the reality of its implementation...

Code of the taxpayer, a single tax identification number is all good ideas, but it recalls fussing with VAT in Russia or the Ukraine DRFO code. Why assign another number if everyone already has a passport number? Why a new tax identification number?

The same situation happens with the definition of common standards of offshore ...

Open any dictionary, even though the Oxford one or even Wikipedia and you get a comprehensive definitions and criteria for offshore. I understand that the budget can not only cut the post-Soviet space. Apparently, this topic will end up being more than one thousand people.

All of the above are recommendations. A lá - "Code of the Builder of Communism."

And "... the revision and updating of existing key tax acts ..." - Wow. That's cool! This means that all EU countries will have the same tax laws! But now it is different. Cyprus, Bulgaria, Ireland - 10%. France has introduced a 75% tax on windfall profits. How should we the unificate the rates? Will France be reduced? Or will Cyprus rise? If Cyprus will increase the tax rate, all will run from Cyprus. He will become not interesting to investors. If France will reduce taxes, where to get the money for social programs, in which the Parisian homeless living without passports and documents better than the middle class in the Russian province?

This is just one aspect of that modestly called "... the revision and updating of the existing key tax acts ..."

I think that the process of globalization can not be stopped, and sooner or later, the border between the two countries will be erased. So far, nothing very terrible and acute had happened. Asset protection and tax planning is a segment of the consulting services, a rapidly growing worldwide, and the former Soviet Union in particular. "

Yaroslav Lomakin ( Managing partner of “Honest&Bright” company.)