The Commission published plans to introduce mandatory public country-by-country reporting for large companies operating in the EU. This information would be made available in a stand-alone report accessible to the public for at least five years on the company’s website. Companies would also have to file the report with a business register in the EU.

The Commission proposes that multinationals operating in the EU with global revenues exceeding €750 million a year should publish key information on where they make their profits and where they pay their tax in the EU on a country-by-country basis. The same rules would apply to non-European multinationals doing business in Europe. In addition, companies would have to publish an aggregate figure for total taxes paid outside the EU.

The proposal for this Directive is now submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The Directive does not propose the harmonisation of taxes, but instead refers to financial reporting obligations as regards income tax information. Therefore the proposed directive is subject to qualified majority voting, not unanimity as is the case for legislation dealing with the harmonisation of tax rules.