European Parliament proposes steps to fight aggressive corporate tax planning and evasion
The European Parliament has spelled out the legal steps needed to improve corporate tax transparency, coordination and EU-wide policy convergence in a resolution voted on Wednesday. The resolution, prepared in the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, was passed by 500 votes to 122. The European Commission now has three months to respond to the proposals, which include the introduction of a ‘Fair Tax Payer Label’ across Europe, as well as country-by-country reporting on profit, tax and subsidies by June 2016. The ‘Fair Tax Payer Label’ is inspired by the UK’s Fair Tax Mark, which launched in February 2014. The recommendation sets out that a voluntary Label should be developed by Europe, but awarded by national bodies. Moreover, it should only be available to those businesses that have “gone above and beyond the letter of what is required of them under Union and national law.” (European Parliament; Fair Tax Mark)
Responsible Investment
Investors put pressure on miners to respond to climate change
An alliance of around 100 investors is calling on mining companies Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto to show that they are working to lessen the impact of climate change on their businesses. The “Aiming for A” coalition of European fund managers and pension funds including Aviva, Amundi and Schroders, which together manage over $4 trillion in assets, will file shareholder resolutions to the firms this month. Shareholders will vote on the resolutions at company meetings to be held in the first months of 2016. Miners are already grappling with an industry crisis caused by plunging commodity prices. The resolutions include commitments to reducing operational carbon emissions, maintaining a portfolio of assets resilient to future energy scenarios, and supporting low-carbon energy research and development. “We want Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto fully to demonstrate awareness of the risks and opportunities that climate change poses to their businesses,” Helen Wildsmith, founder of Aiming for A, said in a statement. (Reuters)
Policy
UK cuts solar subsidies, allows fracking in national parks
The UK government has announced cuts to subsidies for householders who install rooftop solar panels, just days after it agreed to move swiftly to a low-carbon energy future at the climate change conference in Paris. The subsidies will be cut by 64%, although this is less than the previous proposal of an 87% reduction. UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said: “We have to get the balance right and I am clear that subsidies should be temporary, not part of a permanent business model”. Environmental group Friends of the Earth called the cuts a “hammer blow”, adding: “The cuts come just a day after the government pushed through plans to allow fracking beneath National Parks and protected areas. It’s outrageous that the government continues to hand out billions of pounds in subsidies every year to climate-wrecking fossil fuels, while trying to block the clean energy sources we urgently need”. Lord Turner, former chief of the Confederation of British Industry, said he feared a government rift over the low-carbon agenda would impede climate action. (BBC; Guardian)
Corporate Reputation
Facebook, Google, Twitter agree to delete hate speech in 24 hours
The German government has announced that Facebook, Google and Twitter have agreed to delete hate speech from their websites within 24 hours, a new step in the fight against rising online racism following the refugee crisis. The government has been trying to get social platforms to crack down on the rise in anti-foreigner comments in German on the web as the country struggles to cope with an influx of more than 1 million refugees this year. The new agreement makes it easier for users and anti-racism groups to report hate speech to specialist teams at the three companies, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said. “When the limits of free speech are trespassed, when it is about criminal expressions, sedition, incitement to carry out criminal offences that threaten people, such content has to be deleted from the net,” Maas said. Germany last month launched an investigation into the European head of Facebook over its alleged failure to remove racist hate speech. (Reuters)
Banned and dangerous weapons found for sale on Amazon
Banned and dangerous weapons, many of them disguised as everyday items, are being routinely and illegally sold to online shoppers on the UK Amazon site, a Guardian investigation has found. In test purchases, the Guardian bought three weapons on Amazon.co.uk: a pistol that fires a jet of high-strength pepper spray; a 1m-volt stun gun disguised as a torch; and a baseball cap containing a hidden stabbing knuckleduster in its peak. The sale of all three is illegal. A spokesperson from the National Crime Agency said such items “aren’t harmless souvenirs or toys – they are dangerous weapons capable of causing serious harm and facilitating further crime. Importing them isn’t worth the risk when you consider that you can spend five years in prison.” The stun gun and cap were dispatched by independent Amazon sellers in the US and Israel, while the pepper spray pistol was sold directly by Amazon and couriered promptly from its warehouse outside Milton Keynes. (Guardian)
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