By Robert Palmer
Scandals such as LuxLeaks, the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers have shown how large corporations are able to conceal where they do business and how much they are paying in tax.
To help solve this problem leading campaign groups are calling on the European Union to require companies to publish key financial information on a country-by-country basis.
With this information, companies would no longer be able to hide the low amount of tax they pay in some countries. It would also help give tax authorities in developing countries the data they need to increase the domestic tax take.
Transparency proposals have the backing of the European Commission and Parliament. It’s now time for EU member states to get on board. We hope the UK can lead on these reforms and then continue to implement them after the UK leaves the EU.
| Letter from campaign groups |