European MPs back call for greater transparency

Senior members of national parliaments in Europe have supported calls by the chair of the House of Commons’ public accounts committee for greater public transparency on taxes paid by multinational companies.

The open letter has been signed by the chairs of parliamentary finance committees in Germany Hungary Finland Norway and Slovakia as well as senior MPs in the Netherlands Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

It urges governments to support a measure that would show for each tax jurisdiction in which multinational companies do business their revenue profit before income tax income tax paid and accrued total employment capital retained earnings and tangible assets.

Signatories also expect companies ‘to identify each entity in the group that is doing business in a particular tax jurisdiction and to provide an indication of the business activities in a selection of broad areas’.