INTERVIEW
"It goes without saying that if a company has its tax headquarters or subsidiaries in a tax haven, I want to say with great force, it will not be able to benefit from State cash aid," said Bruno Le Maire. on France Info this Thursday, the day after the budget vote in the Senate to help the French economy face the coronavirus crisis. Parliamentarians voted for an amendment excluding state aid for companies registered in a tax haven, a country where taxation is very advantageous. Guest of Europe 1, Élise Van Beneden, lawyer and president of Anticor, welcomed this measure, recalling that for the countries of the European Union, the loss amounted "to more than 750 billion euros".
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"An inconsistency in asking for national solidarity without paying tax"
"It is obvious that there are many companies which set up schemes of optimization, even of tax evasion, and which therefore have their headquarters in tax havens, and which bring up the profits of their subsidiaries to this country where they pay very little tax to avoid paying taxes in France, and consequently divert revenue from state coffers, "explained Élise Van Beneden.
The president of Anticor denounces the "inconsistency" of the aid system in France, citing in particular the CICE, a tax credit which had sparked important debates. There is an "inconsistency between a society which requests aid for national solidarity when it itself does not contribute to state revenues", underlines the lawyer, while recalling that taxes are used to finance public services.
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Ireland, Cyprus and the Netherlands are tax havens, says Elise Van Beneden
The announcement made on Thursday is therefore a good measure, according to Élise Van Beneden. Nevertheless, the president of Anticor underlines the fact that "the list of tax havens is disputed". Because if Bruno Le Maire sends a strong signal to companies, only those based in 13 tax havens, whose list is available on the website of the Ministry of the Economy, will be affected. "But we can very well consider that countries of the European Union are tax havens," says Élise Van Beneden.
In its viewfinder in particular: Holland, which "has extremely advantageous tax rules. A lot of companies have settled in the Netherlands". The lawyer also quotes Ireland, "which makes agreements with companies on an advantageous tax system. This is why you have so many multinationals which are installed there". Cyprus should also be on the list, continues Élise Van Beneden, while England "could also be challenged". So, even if the measure is good, "we should already fix the list of tax havens, that there is not only Panama", she concludes