The issue of “tax fairness” has risen up the political agenda since the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis and the uncovering of controversial tax practices by multinational corporations. Increased public pressure has led to Commission proposals on a series of measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and fraud, to adopt tax-related state aid infringement decisions – for example in relation to Apple in Ireland – and to prevent further single market distortions. While such initiatives are heading in the right direction however, a long-term, coherent vision for the future of tax systems in the single market is still lacking. In order to address these issues, the EPC recently held a high-level Policy Dialogue on modernising taxation in the single market. Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs was invited to present his vision for a future-proof taxation policy that can deliver economic, environmental and social objectives, and mitigate the disruptive effects of different tax regimes on the single market. He then took part in a panel debate. The event also marked the launch of a new publication on the results of a joint EPC-Accountancy Europe project on modernising taxation in the single market.
Speakers included: Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive of the EPC, Dmitri Jegorov, Deputy Secretary General for Tax and Customs Policy at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia, Olivier Boutellis-Taft, CEO of Accountancy Europe, Femke Groothuis, President of the Ex’tax project, Ivailo Kalfin, former Member of the European Parliament and Member of the High Level group on Own Resources