Romain Wolff said: “The Panama Papers reveal the enormous and scandalous extent and scale of tax avoidance practices by a wide range of well-off and privileged individuals. After LuxLeaks, SwissLeaks and other previous revelations, we are starting to get used to tax scandals. The Panama Papers underline once again the urgency of taking concrete and effective action in the field of taxation. Tax havens must be included in a global strategy for tax justice.”

Wolff: “Wealth must be taxed appropriately and everyone must pay his of her fair tax share”

He added: “Wealth must be taxed appropriately and everyone must pay his or her fair tax share. Tax avoidance does not only make rich persons richer but also makes a fool of those citizens that naturally pay all their taxes in their home country. Morally speaking, tax avoidance is also stealing money from the provision of public services by the state which the less privileged need so much.” EU Member States which do not prevent tax avoidance effectively are ever more deprived of fiscal resources and increasingly turn to austerity politics, hurting the society at large.

Romain Wolff stated: “At CESI, we hope that the Panama Papers will, even more than was the case with Luxleaks or Swissleaks, lead to public pressure on politicians and push the European Commission and EU Member States to take appropriate measures to effectively put an end to any dubious tax practices. Commission President Juncker said he made the fight against tax avoidance a priority of the Commission. It is high time to deliver.”

CESI’s work for tax justice

As a European trade union confederation representing several national tax administration trade unions, CESI has for a long time called for more investments in the personnel and resources of tax administrations, more investigation in dubious tax practices and a better protection of whistle blowers that want to disclose tax-related information to public administrations.