Financial scandals have revealed why transparency is essential for social justice – Alfred Sant

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has voted to set up a permanent tax subcommittee of the Economic and Monetary affairs committee in the European Parliament as part of the fight against tax fraud and for financial transparency.

In explaining his vote, Alfred Sant told the European Parliament that various financial scandals have revealed how transparency is essential for social justice. A strong tax transparency framework has been put in place, helping to curb tax fraud and increasing the cooperation among our tax authorities.

Taxation has occupied a growing space in the EU political agenda in the last 5 years. The EU is currently modernising its VAT system to help Member States collect around 50 billion euros more per year. It makes sense in this context that the European Parliament has its own permanent working structure.

“I will continue to support a necessary and healthy tax competition in the EU. This needs to be framed in a fair and transparent way, also adapted to the very dynamic platform economy. The tax subcommittee should represent diversified perspectives. The interests of small peripheral countries are crucial in this respect and their role in shaping the future of tax policies in Europe is just as valid as that of bigger players and markets,” Alfred Sant stated.

After a series of special committees and a committee of inquiry, created to delve into the various tax leaks and scandals of recent years, the European Parliament has established a more permanent setup to shed light on the matter.

The subcommittee on tax matters will be composed of 30 members and will deal particularly with the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance, as well as financial transparency for taxation purposes.

The vote to establish the subcommittee was carried 613 in favour, 67 against and 8 abstentions. There are currently two other subcommittees in the European Parliament, one on Human Rights and another on Security and Defense, both under the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee.