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Poverty and inequality in Europe have reached shocking levels, according to a new Oxfam report.

Governments are letting big business off the hook when it comes to paying the billions they owe in tax, Oxfam said in reaction to the latest decision of the European Commission on Luxembourg's tax deal with online retailer Amazon.

The European Commission has shown yet again how EU governments grant unfair tax schemes to powerful multinationals, Oxfam said reacting to the opeing of a new investigation into a UK tax scheme that exempts multinational companies from an important anti-tax avoidance measure.

Today, EU member states have proposed a spending increase of 10 percent in 2019 for the EU’s external policies compared to this year’s budget. However, governments are focusing on the wrong issues, Oxfam, Save the Children, DSW and IPPF EN say. The organizations argue a strong focus on human development is needed to counter increasing inequalities and make sure no one is left behind.

At the meeting of the European Council in Tallinn today France, Germany, Italy and Spain called for an agreement on new measures to tax tech giants, like Google and Amazon. Currently, disparate tax laws allow large companies to pay disproportionately low effective tax rates in the EU.

Responding to the verdict in the retrial of the LuxLeaks whistleblowers, Max Lawson, Oxfam’s Inequality Policy Lead said: “Whistleblowers who expose tax dodging should be praised, not punished."  

The political will that delivered the Millennium Development Goals is absent from today’s development debate, yet even bolder political leadership is needed if we are to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals.

The European Commission has proposed legislation that recognises the rights and importance of all whistleblowers in the EU, including those reporting on tax malpractices. Oxfam welcomes the protection mechanisms that will establish safe channels for whistleblowers to report within and outside of their organisation.

This report shows the unparalleled power of public education to tackle growing inequality and bring us closer together. To achieve this, education must be both of good quality and equitable; it should be free, universal and adequately funded.

Fast food company McDonald’s has been enjoying ‘double non-taxation’ in the United States and Luxembourg on the profits it makes in Europe, the European Commission said today. Although tax deals between the company and the Grand Duchy were not ruled illegal, this case illustrates once again how EU member states help big business avoid paying their fair share of tax.In response, Susana Ruíz, Oxfam’s tax policy lead, said:“Big business is getting fat on public money and it’s time governments took action instead of super-sizing the profits of huge companies.…