Jean-Claude Juncker’s fitness to head the EU’s executive for the next
five years came under lacerating attack in the European parliament on
Monday evening, with British, French and Italian far-right and populist
leaders denouncing his record in facilitating massive corporate tax
avoidance when governing Luxembourg for almost two decades.
Juncker became president of the European commission at the beginning of the month only to disappear for a week after disclosures in the Guardian and other newspapers on Luxembourg’s record in enabling multinationals to minimise their tax exposure while earning billions in profit elsewhere in the EU.
The entire new European commission was obliged to attend last night’s session in Strasbourg for the unusual censure motion, at which Juncker sought to defend himself by declaring he was “no friend of big capital”.
“Mr Juncker, you are the worst image of this Europe. If you had a crumb of dignity you would resign,” said Marco Zanni, an MEP from Beppe Grillo’s Five Star movement, which organised the motion, backed by a tenth of the parliament including Ukip and France’s Front National.
Juncker said the “problem is not peculiarly Luxembourg, it is Europe” and blamed the scandal of multinational tax avoidance on the reluctance of national governments to harmonise corporate tax rates.
The details of Luxembourg’s record as a centre for tax avoidance came in leaks of more than 28,000 documents that revealed how the authorities, headed by Juncker, reached agreements with more than 300 global companies allowing them to minimise their liabilities.
Note EU-Digest: also the Netherlands is a major player when it comes to providing a safe haven for corporate tax avoidance.
Read more: Juncker on defensive in censure motion over Luxembourg tax schemes | World news | The Guardian
Juncker became president of the European commission at the beginning of the month only to disappear for a week after disclosures in the Guardian and other newspapers on Luxembourg’s record in enabling multinationals to minimise their tax exposure while earning billions in profit elsewhere in the EU.
The entire new European commission was obliged to attend last night’s session in Strasbourg for the unusual censure motion, at which Juncker sought to defend himself by declaring he was “no friend of big capital”.
“Mr Juncker, you are the worst image of this Europe. If you had a crumb of dignity you would resign,” said Marco Zanni, an MEP from Beppe Grillo’s Five Star movement, which organised the motion, backed by a tenth of the parliament including Ukip and France’s Front National.
Juncker said the “problem is not peculiarly Luxembourg, it is Europe” and blamed the scandal of multinational tax avoidance on the reluctance of national governments to harmonise corporate tax rates.
The details of Luxembourg’s record as a centre for tax avoidance came in leaks of more than 28,000 documents that revealed how the authorities, headed by Juncker, reached agreements with more than 300 global companies allowing them to minimise their liabilities.
Note EU-Digest: also the Netherlands is a major player when it comes to providing a safe haven for corporate tax avoidance.
Read more: Juncker on defensive in censure motion over Luxembourg tax schemes | World news | The Guardian
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