If ‘consulting’ and ‘looking’ at other tax schemes a bit is a tough line then the Labour Party is further gone than I thought.

“That means reform of our corporation tax system. In the 21st Century value is now often in brands, intellectual property, customer loyalty and ideas which can be traded globally between different parts of a company group. The rules need to be clearer, tighter and properly enforced.”

Gosh, that’s lovely.

So, lessee. They’ll outlaw the payment of royalties like Starbucks was doing? Ooops, no, they can’t. EU law makes it illegal to tax such royalty payments. So they’ll tax that interest that Boots is paying to Switzerland then? Ooops, no, EU law makes that illegal too.

But they’ll tax the profits that Vodafone hides in Luxembourg at least. Err, no, illegal again, as the Cadbury case sorted out.

Well, at least they’ll get Facebook, Amazon and Google, right? Nope, Single Market rules again.

So what, actually, are they going to do? Other than be very serious indeed about this?

This just shows a catastrophic lack of understanding about taxation and the rules involved. Tim W above has only just touched on the start of the problems.

You seem to think Tim that it’s impossible to persuade EU to change taxation laws too.

Also, publishing details would at least make it harder for companies to maintain opaqueness like they have now. Public pressure.

It seems obvious that, if we are to resolve these tax issues, we must leave the EU. The single market is probably the only part of the EU that benefits us, and if we don’t want it, why should we stay in the EU?

Alternatively it might be all posturing from politicians again who have no intention of changing anything.

You seem to think Tim that it’s impossible to persuade EU to change taxation laws too.

They’re mostly not taxation laws, they’re laws about free movement of capital. Changing that would require a fundamental re-evaluation of the Single Market. What you’re suggesting is a sizeable return of sovereignty to the Member States, bigger, incidentally, than anything Cameron is suggesting.

@4. Sunny Hundal

Sunny, you are not putting 2 and 2 together here. The operation of the EU is dependent on the rules currently in place. What you would need to introduce the rules you have suggested are effectively capital controls. Apart from them never working and having terrible effects on the economy, they would completely undermine the way in which the EU is financed. You would shut down most of the trade with EU states as the right to move capital between nation states becomes a bureaucratic function.

So yes, public pressure could change it, but the change would have to be so fundamental, and the results so drastic that you would crash Europe.

I fear there is a severe lack of understanding on the operation of the EU and the interdependent law here. This is not simply a change of EU taxation law as you think.

As above.

Sure, you might be able to persuade the EU to change. But two things:

1) This isn’t something in the power of the UK Govt to demand or do. They’re one of 27 voices and 27 votes.

2) It is a change to the fundamental basics of the EU. The free movement of capital, labour, goods and services. The “pro-Europeans” would absolutely never, ever, agree to the agenda. We are supposed to be “integrating Europe” after all. And I can’t actually think of any country that has ever had capital controls within itself.

It’s true that I think we should leave the EU. But as above, the only way we could actually gain enough control over taxation to be able to do the things seemingly desired is to do so.

“So what, actually, are they going to do? Other than be very serious indeed about this?”

Prosecute those caught doing tax evasion in Switerland would be a start. Employ more inspectors.

There’s an EU forum on transfer pricing that meets every couple of months.

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/company_tax/transfer_pricing/forum/index_en.htm

That’s about all I can offer on that point.