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Today, the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland illegally provided state aid to Apple through a tax deal which upholds the European Commission’s 2016 decision. As a result, Apple must now pay back €13 billion in unpaid taxes. 

Taxes that disproportionately affect ordinary Europeans – consumption and labour taxes – bring in 13 times more revenue than taxes on wealth, which are paid mainly by the super-rich, according to a new analysis by Oxfam. 

After months of deadlock, EU countries reached an agreement on a low-rate minimum tax for multinational profits at the EU level. This follows a deal struck at the international level to implement a global minimum tax.  

Despite EU intentions to crack down on tax avoidance, the European Commission’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Package does not do what it says on the tin, warns Oxfam, and developing countries will feel the EU’s failure most.

Domestic Revenue Mobilisation is key for governments to fund their own development goals, finance gender-responsive public services and to reduce economic, social and gender inequalities. While the EU is leading the way when it comes to the quantity of aid it provides towards domestic revenue mobilisation, there is significant room for improvement when it comes to the quality of the aid provided.

Today, EU finance ministers agreed on the reform of the mandate of the Code of Conduct Group, the body within the Council of the EU that assesses harmful tax regimes and is responsible for the EU tax haven list. This reform updated the definition of harmful tax regimes in EU countries. No progress was made on updating the criteria for the EU tax haven list.  

Today, European finance ministers updated the EU tax havens list. They added Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Seychelles to the blacklist and removed the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and the Marshall Islands.

In an open letter, a large coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions, including Oxfam, is asking European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a more ambitious proposal on tax transparency.

Across Europe and the world, people are facing rising energy bills and inflation driven by the Ukraine war and the aftermath of the pandemic. Meanwhile, big business in every sector, not just energy, are raking in extremely high and excessive profits.

EU governments are unwilling to tackle large-scale tax avoidance of multinational companies, Oxfam says in reaction to a new directive formally approved today.