My piece in Politiken today: Political action against tax havens is setting the stage for a morality play that will expose hypocrisies in European tax policy. Different policy positions taken by the OECD and EU are revealing how embedded tax havens are in Europe. [1/15] @phdskat

Restrictions on state support to firms appeared in Belgium, France, Denmark, and Poland. In Denmark this is ineffectual, since it applies only to ‘direct’ ownership from a tax haven on the EU blacklist. Scottish provisions are stronger but need research capacity [2/15] #GWCs

Danish companies targeted for attention for being invested in tax havens complained that they were being unfairly smeared because their corporate registrations are in countries not on the EU blacklist. A problem is that EU blacklist excludes EU member states [3/15]. @ChrHallum

Denmark’s symbolic politics on tax havens is strategically ambiguous. There is a much bigger political game in this morality play. The recent French-German 'Recovery Plan' initiative that has spurred on the 'Next Generation EU' plan is an especially important plot twist. [4/15]

The French-German initiative explicitly stated that “effective minimum taxation” and digital taxation is needed “ideally based on a successful conclusion of the OECD work, and establishing a Common Corporate Tax Base”. The quoted words are important. [5/15] @thesailaway_CPH

The OECD estimates that corporate tax avoidance has cost between 4-10% of global corporate income tax revenue, between US$100-240 billion a year. Saint-Amans, the OECD ‘tax czar’, has made a strong push on having a new unified framework for assessing real economy presence [6/15]

Tax havens on the EU’s blacklist are worried, but so should some northern European countries as well. OECD data shows 2018 corporate taxes as a percentage of all taxes was 8.85%. In FR 4.6% and DE 5.6% (DK is 6.5%), while in NL it was 9%, in IRE 14.4%, and in LUX 14.8%. [7/15]

The French and German governments may be looking at their neighbors and wonder how much they are subsidizing them. Southern European countries may look at claims from the Netherlands about ‘moral hazards’ and the need for fiscal prudence and cry ‘hypocrisy!’ [8/15]

French and German support for OECD work points to a coming conflict not between the north and the south within the EU, but between northern countries that enable corporate tax avoidance and those who lose from it. [9/15] @UvACORPNET @fernandezamster @SOMO @jasperblom_eu @phdskat

In 2019 TJN’s Corporate Tax Haven Index ranked how aggressively tax havens allow MNCs to avoid taxes. BVI was 1st, then Bermuda, then Caymans. The classic sandy beach 'tax havens'. But 4th place went to NL and 6th to LUX [10/11] @markusmeinzer @alexcobham @petr_jansky @COFFERSEU

New research, esp. @javiergb_com, separates out tax havens into ‘sinks’ and ‘conduits’. Sinks attract and keep foreign capital, while conduits are midway points in corporate structures. NL is the most important conduit and LUX the key sink. [11/15] @ArjanReurink @fichtner_jan

We can expect more activity on tax havens as the morality play continues. Reform to the tax system is unlikely given the need for unanimity from member states. @mhallerberg @thomas_rixen. The Commission has called for more ‘efficient and democratic’ decision-making but... [12/15]

DK, SWE, NL, LUX and IRE will oppose a change to unanimity on tax rules. For this is about sovereignty. For others it is also to protect their corporate tax base. Action is more likely on accounting rules where there is more scope for action @RichardJMurphy @AdamLeaver1 [13/15]

As we know, DK aligns itself with NL, AT and SWE in ‘The Frugal 4’, opposing joint loans. This affirms the old narrative of northern saints and southern sinners, which is already back in the press. [14/15] @m2matthijs @ProfKMcNamara @MkBlyth @Kentikelenis

But now we have an important change in this morality play. FR and DE’s support for OECD’s work will highlight hypocrisies on the role of tax havens in Europe. It will force member states, including DK, to consider who their friends are when claiming the moral high ground. [15/15]

Here's the link and cartoon from Politiken
https://politiken.dk/debat/debatindlaeg/art7800283/Man-skal-ikke-bel%C3%A6re-andre-om-%C3%B8konomiske-dyder-n%C3%A5r-man-selv-bor-i-et-skattely