Answer given by Mr Gentiloni on behalf of the European Commission
27.7.2021
The fight against tax avoidance is of utmost importance for the Commission. Over the recent years, the European Union has made significant progress and a number of key legal texts (Directives) were adopted[1]. Member States now have reinforced tools against aggressive tax planning. An important objective in this field is to ensure that multinational enterprises pay sufficient tax where they are commercially active and earn revenue. However, this is not always achieved today, primarily due to profit shifting practices.
The July 2020 Package for fair and simple taxation[2] and the 18 May 2021 Communication on Business Taxation for the 21st Century[3] announced several initiatives. Legislative proposals are in the pipeline to tackle the use of shell companies and ensure greater public transparency on the taxes paid by large companies.
At the same time, discussions are ongoing at international level to reform the international tax system and adapt it to the new business models as well as to ensure that multinational enterprises pay a minimum effective level of taxation. Once a global agreement is reached, the Commission will act swiftly to implement it in the EU.
In general, the Commission assists Member States in implementing negative Commission decisions with recovery, and constantly monitors the effective recovery of aid that it found unlawful and incompatible with the internal market. Concerning the Commission Decision on the aid by Luxembourg to Amazon[4], in May 2018 Amazon EU SARL repaid the aid amount received and the corresponding recovery interest. On 12 May 2021, the EU General Court annulled[5] the decision.