Members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) traveled to Washington DC from October 30 to November 1 met with representatives of key US institutions. The delegation was led by the subcommittee's Chair, Paul Tang.

The delegation met with representatives of key institutions, such as the US Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, bi-partisan representation of the US Congress, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, as well as stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, experts, and journalists.

According to a press release issued by the European Parliament, te discussions focused on topical international tax issues and challenges, such as the implementation of the two-pillar tax reform agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework, the role of tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA), the exchange of tax information, the taxation of crypto-assets, and the US approach to combating tax havens, tax evasion, and aggressive tax practices.

Paul Tang (S&D, NL), FISC chair: "The FISC subcommittee made clear to the US Congress that the ship has sailed: with the EU and many other countries worldwide implementing a 15% minimum tax rate, Pilar 2 will become a reality.

The delegation also criticised the US for not being able to know who owns what in the US. Tax evaders use some American states to hide information on owners of corporations or trusts. If the US wants to be serious about fighting tax evasion and financial crimes, access to this information should be open not only to law enforcement authorities. The Internal Revenue Service, as a tax collector authority, should also have such access.

Finally, the delegation made clear that a multitude of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) is much worse than Pilar 1. Yes, Pilar 1 rules are sometimes complex. But not having a common framework leads to less tax certainty and more compliance cost for companies".

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