The European Parliament has announced that it has welcomed the European Commission's proposed anti tax avoidance directive ({News-2016-01-29/P/2- previous coverage}) in a resolution voted on 8 June 2016, with certain recommended changes/additions. The recommendations include:

• Setting a minimum tax rate of 15% on foreign income as part of the switch-over clause, with any difference between a lower foreign rate being payable;
• Limiting the deductibility of borrowing costs to 20% of EBITDA or EUR 2 million, whichever is higher;
• Drawing up an exhaustive 'black list' of tax havens and countries, including those in the EU, complemented with a list of sanctions for non-cooperative jurisdictions and for financial institutions that operate within tax havens;
• Prohibiting the use of letterbox companies;
• Swiftly introducing a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB);
• Increasing the transparency of trust funds and foundations;
• Introducing a common method for calculating the effective corporate tax rate in each member state to allow for comparison across the EU;
• Introducing a cross-border tax dispute resolution mechanism with clearer rules and timelines by January 2017; and
• Creating a harmonized, common European taxpayer identification number (TIN) to serve as a basis for effective automatic exchange of information between Member States.

The anti tax avoidance directive is to be decided on by the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) during their upcoming 17 June meeting.