EU parliament votes to launch tax inquiry

BRUSSELS: The European parliament has voted to launch an inquiry into financial crime, tax evasion and tax avoidance, saying the Paradise Papers had revealed the “unfinished work” needed to secure fair taxation.

A special committee of 45 MEPs, provisionally entitled Taxe 3 in its terms of reference, will spend a year investigating issues including those raised in the leak of data from the offshore law firm Appleby. A key focus for the inquiry will be the use of offshore tax havens to save on VAT. The leak exposed how the Isle of Man had issued £790m in VAT refunds.