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Rulings by the General Court of the European Union today are a wake-up call for the EU to stop the destructive race to the bottom on taxation and reform the global architecture to create a fairer and more equitable system, says Oxfam.

The European Commission has today opened a state aid probe into the tax affairs of furniture giant Ikea with the Netherlands. This new case shows Europe still has to put its own house in order when it comes to ending tax havens within the EU.

It is very good news that the European Commission seems ready to finally tackle harmful tax competition inside the European Union, Oxfam said in reaction to a report criticising seven EU member states for their aggressive tax policies. The organisation also welcomed the increased pressure on tax havens greylisted by the EU to make their reform commitments public.

Figures published today by the OECD show that development aid has slightly increased in 2020. While this rise provides a lifeline for millions of people living in poverty around the world, it’s simply not enough. With extreme poverty skyrocketing for the first time in over twenty years and increasing economic and gender inequality exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, rich countries are facing and failing the biggest test the aid system has seen since its creation 50 years ago, said Oxfam. 

Oxfam strongly welcomes today’s leaked documents on Luxembourg’s tax haven operations revealed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), showing that Luxembourg granted favorable tax treatment to many multinational corporations in order for them to dodge taxes by routing their profits through the country.

Across Africa, ambitions to achieve inclusive and sustainable development are being undermined by inadequate investment in the care economy. Women and girls are providing millions of hours of unpaid care and domestic work – a provision which props up the economy and underpins society, yet remains under-recognized, undervalued and under-invested in. 

The international agency said the US and others are putting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry above the lives of people around the globe. Oxfam is calling on the UN Secretary General and world leaders to make delivering affordable medicines a priority in 2018. 

Following the Paradise Papers revelations, the European Parliament decided today to establish a new special committee on tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. 

Oxfam today gave a cautious welcome to the OECD's plans to open up its tax reform process to developing countries but said more fundamental global tax reforms, beyond BEPS, are still needed to stop corporate tax scandals. 

Plans for next year's EU budget mean that not the actual needs of people in developing countries will be addressed, but money will be spent on border security to stop migration, Oxfam deplores.