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120 • Fifty Shades of Tax Dodging 509. Interview with French Finance Ministry officials, 11 June 2015. 510. Ministère des Finances et des Comptes Publics. (2014). Optimisation fiscale des multinationales: la France soutient le plan d’action de l’OCDE et mobilise ses partenaires pour le prochain sommet du G20 des ministres des Finances. Accessed 22 May 2015: http://proxypubminefi.diffusion.finances.gouv.fr/pub/document/18/17960.pdf 511. Minister of Finance. (2015). Transparence des rulings et optimisation fiscal: Michel Sapin salue les avancées soutenues par la France au niveau européen et mondial. Accessed October 12 2015 : http://proxypubminefi.diffusion.finances.gouv.fr/pub/document/18/19802.pdf 512. The Guardian. (2015). EU must pull its weight to help create a better global financial system. Published 20 April 2015. Accessed 22 May 2015: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/20/ eu-financing-for-development-global-financial-system 513. Le Figaro. (2013). Bientôt des inspecteurs du fisc sans frontières. Published January 7 2013. Accessed 22 May 2015: http://www.lefigaro. fr/impots/2013/01/07/05003-20130107ARTFIG00524-bientot-desinspecteurs-du-fisc-sans-frontieres.php 514. Le Point. (2015). Michel Sapin: ‘L’époque où l’on pouvait frauder est révolue’. Published 10 February 2015. Accessed 13 July 2015: http://www.lepoint.fr/economie/michel-sapin-il-fauts-attaquer-a-l-optimisation-fiscale-des-grandes-entrepris es-10-02-2015-1903753_28.php 515. ICIJ. (2014). ‘Lux Leaks’ causes ‘tax storm’ of government, media response, Op Cit. 516. Quoted in Government of the United Kingdom. (2014). Germany and UK agree joint proposal for rules on preferential IP regimes. Published 11 November 2014. Accessed 9 September 2015: https://www.gov.uk/ government/news/germany-and-uk-agree-joint-proposal-for-ruleson-preferential-ip-regimes 517. See for example for North-Rhine Westphalia. (2012). Informationen zum Schweizer Steuerabkommen und dem Ankauf von Steuer-CDs sowie zu Selbstanzeigen. Published 24 September 2012. Updated 4 September 2015. Accessed 15 September 2015: http://www.fm.nrw.de/ allgemein_fa/steuerzahler/Steuerhinterziehung/2013_08_05_Update_ Infos_Steuerabkommen.php 518. Welt. (2015). Steuerhinterzieher zeigen sich reihenweise selbst an. Published 8 August 2015. Accessed 28 August 2015: http://www.welt. de/wirtschaft/article144977549/Steuerhinterzieher-zeigen-sichreihenweise-selbst-an.html 519. See below under ‘Tax policies’ 520. Ibid. 521. Ibid. 522. KPMG. (2014). OECD BEPS Action Plan – Taking the pulse in the EMA region: Survey of participation and action by EMA countries. Published September 2014. Accessed 11 September 2015: https:// www.kpmg.com/Global/en/services/Tax/addressing-the-changingtax-environment/Documents/taking-the-pulse-in-the-ema-region. pdf, p.14. 523. EY. (2015). Current German tax legislative developments, German Tax & Legal Quarterly, Issue 2, 2015. Accessed 9 September 2015: http:// www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/2015_EY_GTLQ_Q2/$FILE/ German_Tax_Legal_Quarterly_2-2015.pdf, p.1. 524. Ibid. 525. Luxemburger Wort. (2015). Commerzbank searched over Luxembourg tax evasion investigation. Published 25 February 2015. Accessed 9 September 2015: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/germany- commerzbank-searched-over-luxembourg-tax-evasion-investigation- 54ed76a40c88b46a8ce54303. Commerzbank later reportedly closed down 400 bank accounts of clients suspected of concealing wealth and the bank informed that they had repeatedly warned customers to report themselves to the authorities, and that the bank had closed down most of its offshore activities in 2008. See Reuters. (2015). Commerzbank to close accounts of 400 Luxembourg clients – reports. Published 31 March 2015. Accessed 9 September 2015: http://www. reuters.com/article/2015/03/31/commerzbank-luxembourg-taxidUSL6N0WX52Z20150331 526. Luxemburger Wort. (2015). Bank pays €22 mn for Luxembourg tax evasion activities. Published 19 August 2015. Accessed 9 September 2015: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/hsh-nordbank- bank-pays-22-mn-for-luxembourg-tax-evasion-activities- 55d483850c88b46a8ce5e993 527. WirtschaftsWoche. (2015). Millionen-Geldbuße wegen Beihilfe zur Steuerhinterziehung. Published 18 August 2015. Accessed 28 August 2015: http://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/banken/ hsh-nordbank-millionen-geldbusse-wegen-beihilfe-zursteuerhinterziehung/12205048.html 528. Der Spiegel. (2009). Teutonic Tricks: Germany Becomes Tax Haven for Firms and Wealthy – Part 2: ‘The State is Lagging Hopelessly Behind’. Published 2 September 2009. Accessed 11 September 2015: http:// www.spiegel.de/international/business/teutonic-tricks-germanybecomes-tax-haven-for-firms-and-wealthy-a-646558-2.html 529. KPMG. (2014). German Tax Monthly, November 2014: http://www.kpmg. com/DE/de/Documents/german-tax-monthly-november-2014-kpmg. pdf, p.2. 530. Handelsblatt Global Edition. (2015). HVB Settles With the Past, Published 16 July 2015: https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/220/ ressort/finance/article/hvb-settles-with-the-past 531. Wall Street Journal. (2015). Deutsche Bank Headquarters Raided in Tax-Fraud Probe. Published 9 June 2015. Accessed 11 September 2015: http://www.wsj.com/articles/deutsche-bank-confirms-headquarterssearched-by-police-1433843564 532. Wall Street Journal. (2014). European Probe Widens Into Tax Maneuver. Published 29 October 2014. Accessed 11 September 2015: http:// www.wsj.com/articles/european-regulators-expand-probe-into-taxavoidance-stock-trades-1414604558 533. Reuters. (2015). Anklage gegen Deutsche-Bank-Mitarbeiter in CO2- Skandal. 13 August 2015. Accessed 28 August 2015: http://de.reuters. com/article/companiesNews/idDEKCN0QI0UW20150813 534. See Bundesministerium der Finanzen. (2014). Gesetz zur Änderung der Abgabenordnung und des Einführungsgesetzes zur Abgabenordnung. Published 30 December 2014. Accessed 6 August 2015: http://www. bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Gesetzestexte/Gesetze_ Verordnungen/2014-12-30-Aenderung-AO-Selbstanzeige.html 535. German CFC rules were found to effectively limit German multinational companies’ ability to use internal debt to shift profit in Buettner, Thies & Georg Wamser. (2013). Internal debt and multinational profit shifting: Empirical evidence from firm-level panel data, National Tax Journal, March 2013, 66 (1), p.63-96. 536. ZDFzoom. (2013). Flucht in die Karibik. Published 12 March 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjixyuInBSs 537. BDO. (2012). Transfer Pricing News. Issue 10, September 2012, Accessed 4 September 2015: http://www.bdointernational.com/ Publications/Tax-Publications/Documents/Transfer%20Pricing%20 News_10_0912.pdf 538. Tuoi Tre News. (2015). Metro Vietnam found owing over $2.92mn in tax in transfer pricing inspection. Published 21 April 2015. Accessed 4 September 2015: http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/27609/metrovietnam-found-owing-over-236mn-in-tax-in-transfer-pricinginspection 539. Bach, S. (2013). Unternehmensbesteuerung: Hohe Gewinne – mäßige Steuereinnahmen, DIW Wochenbericht 22+23/2013. pp 3-12. Accessed 4 September 2015: http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/ diw_01.c.421903.de/13-22.pdf 540. Euractiv. (2015). Germany under spotlight in EU-wide corporate taxation probe. Published 10 June 2015. Accessed 4 September 2015: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/euro-finance/commission-turnsgermany-eu-wide-corporate-taxation-probe-315254 541. Deutscher Bundestag. (2014). Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten Dr. Thomas Gambke, Britta
Fifty Shades of Tax Dodging • 121 Haßelmann, Lisa Paus, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN zur Aufarbeitung von Luxemburg-Leaks in Deutschland, Bt.-Drs. Drucksache 18/3662. Published 19 December 2014. Accessed 6 August 2015: http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/ btd/18/036/1803662.pdf 542. European Commission. (2014). Statistics on APAs at the end of 2013: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/ company_tax/transfer_pricing/forum/final_apa_statistics_2013_ en.pdf 543. Ibid. Smaller enterprises pay a reduced rate of €10,000 and there is no fee “in case of hardship or specific interest of tax administration in APA”. 544. MNE Tax. (2015). Germany and Netherlands to exchange information on APAs and innovation box tax rulings, Published 16 July 2015. Accessed 10 September 2015: http://mnetax.com/germany-netherlandsexchange-information-private-tax-rulings-9943 545. OECD. (2015). Implementing the latest international standards for compiling foreign direct investment statistics – How multinational enterprises channel investments through multiple countries. Published February 2015. Accessed 9 September 2015: http://www. oecd.org/daf/inv/How-MNEs-channel-investments.pdf, p.3 footnote 1 546. LowTax. (2015). Germany: Related information – Holding companies. Accessed 9 September 2015: http://www.lowtax.net/information/ germany/germany-holding-companies.html 547. See PwC. (2015). Bedingungen für die Anwendung der Tonnage-Steuer. Accessed 6 August 2015: http://www.pwc.de/de/transport-undlogistik/bedingungen-fuer-die-anwendung-der-tonnage-steuer.jhtml,. 548. Reuters. (2015). Germany calls on EU to ban ‘patent box’ tax breaks. Published 9 July 2013. Accessed 10 September 2015: http://uk.reuters. com/article/2013/07/09/uk-europe-taxes-idUKBRE9680KY20130709 549. Government of the United Kingdom. (2014). Germany and UK agree joint proposal for rules on preferential IP regimes. Published 11 November 2014. Accessed 10 September 2015: https://www.gov.uk/ government/news/germany-and-uk-agree-joint-proposal-for-ruleson-preferential-ip-regimes 550. Alex Cobham. (2015). Will the patent box break BEPS?. Published 20 July 2015. Accessed 10 September 2015: http://uncounted. org/2015/07/20/will-the-patent-box-break-beps/ 551. Reuters. (2014). German industry lobby calls for ‘patent box’ tax breaks. Published 15 September 2014. Accessed 10 September 2015: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/15/us-germany-patentboxidUSKBN0HA1M520140915 552. Ibid. & Reuters. (2014). Germany’s Schaeuble: Could consider tax breaks for R&D firms. Published 17 September 2014. Accessed 11 September 2015: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/17/usgermany-schaeuble-g-idUSKBN0HC1IZ20140917 553. Eurodad research. See Figure 4 and Table 5. The analysis has been conducted using a combination of data shared by ActionAid International, Martin Hearson of the London School of Economics and Political Science, from the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) Tax Research Platform (http://online.ibfd.org/ kbase/), and from the 15 European governments’ websites containing their tax treaties (links to all these websites can be found here: http:// ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/individuals/treaties_en.htm). The data only covers treaties that entered into force in 1970 or later. The data reflects the information that was available until 20 September 2015. In a few instances it was not possible to determine the relevant information regarding the statutory withholding tax rates or the rates contained in the treaties due to lack of publicly available information or language barriers. In such cases the treaties were either omitted from the calculation of the average rate reduction (as was the case with a treaty between France and Malawi) or additional information was sourced from the following two websites: http://www.treatypro. com/ and http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/ Documents/Tax/dttl-tax-withholding-tax-rates-2015.pdf. The category ‘developing countries ‘ covers the countries that fall into the World Bank’s categories of low-income, lower-middle income and uppermiddle income countries (which covers the span of GNI per capita from $0 to $12,735. Please refer to: http://data.worldbank.org/about/ country-and-lending-groups). 554. Bundesministerium der Finanzen. (2014). Stand der Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen und anderer Abkommen im Steuerbereich sowie der Abkommensverhandlungen am 1. Januar 2014. Published 22 January 2014. Accessed 14 October 2014: http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/ BMF_Schreiben/Internationales_Steuerrecht/Allgemeine_ Informationen/2014-02-22-Stand-DBA-1-Januar-2014.pdf?__ blob=publicationFile&v=3 555. See Bundesministerium der Finanzen. (2014). Abkommen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Republik Costa Rica zur Vermeidung der Doppelbesteuerung auf dem Gebiet der Steuern vom Einkommen und vom Vermögen. Published 26 November 2014: http:// www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Standardartikel/ Themen/Steuern/Internationales_Steuerrecht/Staatenbezogene_ Informationen/Laender_A_Z/Costa_Rica/2014-11-26-Costa-Rica- Abkommen-DBA.html 556. KPMG. (2014). German Tax Monthly, November 2014, http://www. kpmg.com/DE/de/Documents/german-tax-monthly-november- 2014-kpmg.pdf, p.5; and BDB law WTS. (2013). Amended tax treaty between PHL, Germany signed. Accessed 15 September 2015: http:// www.bdblaw.com.ph/index.php?option=com_dms&task=doc_ download&id=732&Itemid=164 557. Bundesministerium der Finanzen. (2013). Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital, IVB2 – S 1301/13/10009. Accessed 14 October 2014: http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/ DE/Standardartikel/Themen/Steuern/Internationales_Steuerrecht/ Allgemeine_Informationen/2013-08-22-Verhandlungsgrundlage-DBAenglisch.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=7 558. Email from Mr Klaus Klotz, German Federal Ministry of Finance, to Markus Henn, WEED, dated 19 August 2015. 559. Eurodad. (2014). Hidden Profits – The EU’s role in supporting an unjust global tax system: http://eurodad.org/files/pdf/54819867f1726.pdf, p.46 560. Henn et al. (2013). p. 13. 561. Henn et al. (2013). p. 6. 562. Reuters. (2015). Update 2 – South Africa fines Deutsche Bank for lax anti-money laundering rules. Published 20 February 2015. Accessed 15 September 2015: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/20/ safrica-deutsche-bank-idUSL5N0VU1AN20150220 563. See U.S. Department of Justice. (2015). Commerzbank AG Admits to Sanctions and Bank Secrecy Violations, Agrees to Forfeit $563 Million and Pay $79 Million Fine. Published 12 March 2015: http://www.justice. gov/opa/pr/commerzbank-ag-admits-sanctions-and-bank-secrecyviolations-agrees-forfeit-563-million-and 564. Bloomberg. (2015). Deutsche Bank Investigating $6 Billion of Possible Money Laundering by Russian Clients. Published 5 June 2015. Accessed 4 September 2015: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ articles/2015-06-05/deutsche-bank-probe-said-to-target-6-billionof-russian-trades; and The Moscow Times. (2015). Deutsche Bank Moscow Faces Three Investigations over possible money laundering. Published 16 July 2015. Accessed 15 September 2015: http://www. themoscowtimes.com/business/article/deutsche-bank-moscowfaces-three-investigations-over-possible-money-laundering/525765. html 565. Transfer Pricing Week. (2015). Germany moves towards country-bycountry legislation. Published 1 July 2015. Accessed 11 September 2015: http://www.tpweek.com/Article/3467102/Germany-movestowards-country-by-country-legislation.html 566. Ibid. 567. FATF. (2014). Mutual evaluation of Germany – 3rd follow-up report. Published June 2014: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/ reports/mer/FUR-Germany-2014.pdf, p.37-38.
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