Standing Order 112 Select Committee agrees Report for a Reasoned Opinion and Motion on COM(2016)198

Com(2016)198 is a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches.

The Committee has scrutinised this proposal at three meetings, concluding with a decision to issue a reasoned opinion.

It is the opinion of the Committee that the proposal does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity.

While the Committee is supportive of measures encouraging greater social responsibility generally, including measures providing for fair and transparent accounting and reporting arrangements by large corporations, it is of the opinion that the proposed Directive represents a tax measure rather than an accounting measure, and therefore questions the use of the Accounting Directive as the appropriate means of achieving its objectives in this case.

The objectives of the proposal fall generally within the area of tax policy rather than accounting and thus impinges on a national competency, the report says.

The Committee is concerned that this proposal cedes responsibility for an element of tax policy from Member States to the Commission without clearly establishing benefits which do not already arise from the Directive on Administrative Cooperation.

The full report can be accessed here.

The Committee has recommended the reasoned opinion for agreement by Dáil Éireann.

The Select Committee is a transitional committee established by the Dáil to execute Oireachtas powers under the Lisbon Treaty as an interim measure, in particular, to ensure that EU draft legislative acts adhere to the ‘principle of subsidiarity’ as defined under the Treaty.

ENDS