EIB Stakeholder Engagement Meeting
2 October, 2018 Brussels Office of the Group Chief Compliance Officer
Tax Approach and Revision of NCJ Policy
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EIB Stakeholder and Engagement Revision of NCJ Meeting Policy 2 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Tax Approach EIB Stakeholder and Engagement Revision of NCJ Meeting Policy 2 October, 2018 Brussels Office of the Group Chief Compliance Officer EIB Stakeholder Engagement Meeting 02/10/2018 02/10/2018 AGENDA EIB Stakeholder
2 October, 2018 Brussels Office of the Group Chief Compliance Officer
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Revision of the EIB Group Policy towards Weakly Regulated, non- transparent and uncooperative jurisdictions (“NCJ Policy”)
EIB Brussels office: Rond-point Robert Schuman 6, 1040 Brussels 2 October 2018
Registration and welcome coffee
Welcome word and introduction of speakers
Speakers:
Presentation by the Office of the Chief Compliance Officer
Questions and answers session
Revision of the EIB Group NCJ Policy & on-going challenges
Questions and answers session
Lunch and networking 02/10/2018 2 EIB – Stakeholder Engagement Meeting
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capital markets in 2017)
experts)
instruments
« The EU Bank »
sustainable projects
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Environment Infrastructure Innovation SMEs
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LENDING BLENDING ADVISING Loans But also: Guarantees (trade financing) Equity participation Combining EIB finance with EU budget (Project Bond Initiative) Higher risk projects for innovation (InnovFin) Prepare, evaluate and support the implementation of projects (JASPERS) Support for public/private partnerships (EPEC) Attracting FUNDING for long-term growth
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EFTA & Enlargement Countries EUR 1.62bn Eastern Neighbours EUR
0.88bn
Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, South Africa
EUR1.47bn
Asia, Central and Latin America
EUR 1.99bn
Mediterranean EUR 1.96bn
European Union
Outside EU
EUR
EUR
Total EUR 78.16bn
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Guidelines on Internal Governance
Officer (GCCO)
GCCO
Integrity checks on projects and counterparties Integrity of staff and governing bodies Regulatory compliance
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NCJ Policy and Addendum
AML-CFT Framework and procedures Internal tax screening tool Tax Good Governance Compli- ance risk methodo- logy Ethics and Codes of Conduct
Data Protection Procurement compliance Regulatory
Sanctions
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Network of Multilateral Organisations (ENMO). GCCO participation at the 10th conference, in July 2018.
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Step 1 Proposal Step 2 Appraisal Step 3 Approval Step 4 Signature Step 5 Disbursement Step 6 Monitoring and reporting Step 7 Repayment
On a risk-based approach, strict due diligence checks carried out by EIB Compliance Approval documentation to Management Committee and the Board of Directors includes independent Compliance opinion (if required on a risk- based approach) Finance contract is signed (including safeguards against fraud, tax fraud, money laundering and financing of terrorism) Compliance monitoring at post approval stage
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procedures
INTEGRITY CHECKS ON OPERATIONS AND COUNTERPARTIES INDEPENDENT COMPLIANCE OPINIONS
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Council conclusions on EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (5 December 2017), changes January, March and May 2018 Updates of Reference Lists published by Lead Organisations Legal provisions on tax avoidance in EFSI Regulation, EFSD Regulation, ELM Decision, Financial Regulation EC Communication on new requirements against tax avoidance in EU Legislation governing in particular financing and investment operations (March 2018)
Article 155, para 2, Financial Regulation Article 22, para 1, EFSI Regulation When implementing Union funds, persons and entities shall: a. Comply with applicable Union law and agreed international and Union standards and, therefore, not support actions that contribute to money laundering, terrorism financing, tax avoidance, tax fraud or tax evasion; b. when implementing financial instruments and budgetary guarantees in accordance with Title X, not enter into new or renewed operations with entities incorporated or established in jurisdictions listed under the relevant Union policy on non- cooperative jurisdictions or that are identified as high-risk third countries pursuant to Article 9(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/849, or that do not effectively comply with Union or internationally agreed tax standards on transparency and exchange of information. Entities may derogate from point (b) of the first subparagraph only if the action is physically implemented in one of those jurisdictions, and does not present any indication that the relevant operation falls under any of the categories listed in point (a) of the first subparagraph. When concluding agreements with financial intermediaries, entities implementing financial instruments and budgetary guarantees in accordance with Title X shall transpose the requirements referred to in this paragraph into the relevant agreements and shall request the financial intermediaries to report on their observance. Excluded activities and non-cooperative jurisdictions In their financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation, the EIB and the EIF shall comply with applicable EU legislation and agreed international and EU standards and, therefore, shall not support projects under this Regulation that contribute to money laundering, terrorism financing, tax avoidance, tax fraud and tax evasion. In addition the EIB and the EIF shall not enter into new or renewed operations with entities incorporated or established in jurisdictions listed under the relevant EU policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions, or that are identified as high risk third countries pursuant to article 9.2 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, or that do not effectively comply with EU or internationally agreed tax standards
When concluding agreements with financial intermediaries, the EIB and the EIF shall transpose the requirements referred to in this Article into the relevant agreements and shall request the financial intermediaries to report
The EIB and EIF shall review its policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions at the latest following the adoption of the Union list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Every year thereafter, the EIB and EIF shall submit a report to the EP and to the Council on the implementation of its policy mentioned in the previous paragraph in relation to the EFSI financing and investment operations including country by country information and a list of intermediaries with whom they cooperate.
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tax purposes, available: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/tax-
common-eu-list_en
http://www.oecd.org/tax/transparency/exchange-of-information-on- request/ratings/#d.en.342263
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R1675&from=ES
http://www.fatf-gafi.org/countries/#high-risk
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successful delivery of commitments”
States vis-à-vis the non-cooperative jurisdictions, as long as they are part of such list”
creation in March 1998, available: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9639-2018-REV-1/en/pdf
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Tax Transparency
Compliance with international standards
information and
Ratified the OECD's multilateral convention
agreements with all Member States, to facilitate this information exchange
Fair Taxation
No preferential tax measures that could be regarded as harmful and does not facilitate
arrangements aimed at attracting profits which do not reflect real economic activity
Implementation
measures
Commitment to implement the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) minimum standards
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65 Annex II jurisdictions 37 with harmful pref. tax regimes 13 facilitate Off- shore structures
Defensive measures apply No defensive measures apply
As at 02.10.2018
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Listing of jurisdictions by Lead Organisations - Aggregate overview
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As at 02.10.2018
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Harmful preferential tax regimes, as per “6 March 2018 Compilation of letters to third country jurisdictions seeking commitments on taxation” (as at 1 October 2018)
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Harmful preferential tax regimes, as per “6 March 2018 Compilation of letters to third country jurisdictions seeking commitments on taxation” (as at 1 October 2018)
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‘The European Investment Bank and tax havens’, December 2009, ‘ Towards a responsible taxation policy’, 2015, ‘ The dark side of the EIB funds’, September 2016, ‘Investing in Integrity? Transparency & Accountability of the European Investment Bank’, October 2016, ‘Going abroad: a critic of the EIB’s External Lending Mandate’, November 2016, ‘Development finance institutions and responsible corporate tax behaviour’, November 2016, ‘Quand l’Europe investissait dans les paradis fiscaux ’, May 2017, European External Investment Plan: Key Issues to Watch During Implementation (Nov, 2017) Civil Society Joint Paper – Submission for the EIB’s Non-Compliant Jurisdictions (NCJ) Policy review (Jan, 2018) Leading by Example on Responsible Taxation (April 2018) …
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Key recommendations to EIB:
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Expanded scope Operations potentially raising tax concerns, notably those with links to jurisdictions displaying risks of facilitating tax avoidance Extended due diligence Risk-based extended due diligence covering also the identification of potential tax avoidance practices Phasing-in Phased-in implementation of tax avoidance screening tools by testing & further refinement Informing the Board Additional information on the tax aspects of various operations to the Board
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affairs
Tax Integrity Questio- nnaire & Disclosures
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Introduce “tax avoidance” Turn into Group Policy, modernise approach and language Enhance tax disclosures / measures
tax avoidance risks indicators
language
strong EIB Group commitment
Regulation language, EC Communication, CSO expectations
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Develop anti-tax avoidance toolbox
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The EIB Group NCJ Policy aims to strike the right balance between:
and their tax treatment while not necessarily triggering unwarranted in-depth due diligence for low risk projects, in line with a risk-based approach;
where the risks are higher and apply simplified measures when risks are lower;
allowing the EIB Group to meet applicable requirements without jeopardising deliveries under its mandate. While note is taken of the far-reaching expectations advocated by certain stakeholders, the EIB Group entities cannot replace the work
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I.1 Preamble I.2 Main Definitions I.3 Reference Lists I.4 Basic Principles I.5 Scope
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Enrich with references to the following elements:
Global Forum
in EU Legislation governing in particular financing and investment operations of 21 March 2018 (“EC Communication”)
purposes” of 5 December 2017, as amended thereafter (“EU Council Conclusions”)
with the developments in the area of tax good governance
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and EU standards in the field of AML-CFT and to promote tax good governance, notably
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Prohibited Conduct
the Inclusive Framework on BEPS
governance standards
investments), borrowing, treasury or guarantee operation with an NCJ Location Link
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Jurisdictions:
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“Restricted Jurisdiction” “Prohibited Jurisdiction”
“non-compliant”, “partially compliant”, “non- cooperative” or equivalent in connection with the above mentioned international and/or EU standards (e.g. jurisdictions listed in Annex I to EU Council Conclusions)
presenting ongoing and substantial AML-CFT risks, having repeatedly failed to address and/or remedy (as the case may be) identified strategic deficiencies in its AML-CFT framework and for which call for action on members of the classifying Lead Organisation applies;
purposes by the EU Council Conclusions (Annex I) and classified as a “Restricted Jurisdiction” for AML-CFT purposes
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contracting counterparty is established or incorporated in an NCJ
contracting counterparty is
meaning of AML Directive) by a legal
established or incorporated in an NCJ
contracting counterparty is controlled (as per the meaning of AML Directive) by a legal
established or incorporated in an NCJ
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consideration of Reference Lists
Reference Lists, any Reference List published by the EU shall prevail
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approach (“RBA”)
standards of the due diligence process promoted by the EIB Group AML-CFT Framework and revised NCJ Policy
Link (location, ownership, control) to a Prohibited Jurisdictions
Jurisdiction (see practical examples)
and the risk (if any) that the operation could be misused for Targeted Activities can be mitigated
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in which the EIB Group participates in the course of its financing and investment activities as detailed in operational procedures, and
Location Link.
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II.A Prohibition II.B Enhanced Vigilance II.C Informing the Board of Directors
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Jurisdictions
contracting counterparties incorporated or established in cooperative jurisdiction that have not yet solved tax good governance deficiencies – so called “committed jurisdictions”
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that:
physical implementation)
EIB Group’s investments in the relevant NCJ)
location are in the same jurisdiction AND
mitigated.
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Operations and controlling shareholders established in an NCJ:
make recourse to the relevant structure necessary AND
standards (e.g. reasons for listing under the Council Conclusions, membership of the Global Forum and the Inclusive Framework on BEPS, implementation of internationally agreed standards and etc.)
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the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
contracting counterparties incorporated or established in NCJs prior to signature of the contract
applicable mandates/ legislation
Revise integrity covenants
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factors identified in the course of the due diligence performed on the NCJ Operation which may be perceived as being misused by the contracting counterparty for Targeted Activities
Appendix 1 “Anti-Tax Avoidance Toolbox”
also to operations without NCJ Links
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forefront and updated taking all relevant EU and international regulatory developments into account
revised Policy in the detailed operational procedures and due diligence measures tailored in consideration of each EIB Group’s institution’s specificities and following specific requests from the decision-making bodies
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Tax good governance expected from contracting counterparties
and/or international laws and to that extent refrain from artificial arrangements aimed at tax avoidance
beneficial ownership information
Group NCJ Policy
involving jurisdictions with identified tax good governance deficiencies by Lead Organisations which are exclusively motivated by tax reasons and do not have any economic substance
national, European and international tax risks arising from their ownership/control structure
transactions with related parties
Tax avoidance risk assessment tools and measures
counterparties that they do not benefit from preferential tax regimes Possibility to request, on a risk-sensitive basis, contracting counterparties to provide:
and tax regime applicable to major shareholders upstream the project ownership structure
and explanation in differences (if any)
(if any) are compliant with the arm’s length principle and/or whether any transfer pricing documentation was prepared and provided to relevant tax authorities
‘tax good standing’ (if available)
1 2
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Country-related tax risks
EIB Group will take into account the tax integrity risks stemming from the presence of the contracting counterparties in certain jurisdictions. This assessment may consider inter alia:
identified by Lead Organisations
Forum
Framework on BEPS
Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and/or existence of bilateral exchange of information instruments and/or existence of EU legislation providing for exchange of information
Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS
Simplified approach where contracting counterparties are:
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Relationship with competent tax authorities
When necessary, EIB Group may encourage dialogue between the Contracting Counterparties with competent tax authorities, with a view to being informed about certain tax aspects of the them Contracting Counterparty’s structure and/or arrangements, such as the multijurisdictional ownership structure and/or the classification of financial instruments/entities, and/or information on direct or indirect shareholders.
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Prohibited Restricted OECD Global Forum FATF Art 9(2) 4th AMLD Annex I Annex II Put on hold “Preferential Tax Regimes” Tax Sensitive Jurisdictions NCJ LIST Council conclusions Lead Organisations Interim Approach
TIQ IQ
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Jurisdictions Classification criteria Lead Organisation Prohibition Enhanced vigilance Reporting to Board Relocation requirement Restricted Jurisdictions Tax OR AML-CFT EU (Tax List Annex I) / OECD Global Forum / FATF / EU (AMLD) Yes: Location Link. Operation possible
implemented in the relevant Restricted Jurisdiction Yes, any NCJ Link Yes Yes: new Cross- border operations with Contracting Counterparties incorporated or established in NCJs prior to signature of the contract Prohibited Jurisdictions AML-CFT (strategic deficiency) AND AML-CFT (Restricted) + Tax (EU list, Annex I) FATF/ EU (AMLD) (strategic deficiency) AND FATF/EU (AMLD) + EU (Tax List, Annex I) Yes: any NCJ Link (location/owner- ship/control). Operation possible
implemented in the relevant Prohibited Jurisdiction Jurisdictions Classification criteria Lead Organisation Prohibition Enhanced vigilance Reporting to Board Relocation requirement Tax Sensitive Jurisdictions Tax on risk- sensitive basis EU (Tax List, Annex II) / OECD Global Forum No Yes, any NCJ Link Yes No
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Contracting Counterparty Parent Co. Parent Co.
EIB
Prohibition to enter into
Contracting Counterparty Parent Co. Parent Co.
EIB
Contracting Counterparty Parent Co. Parent Co.
EIB
Contracting Counterparty Parent Co. Parent Co.
EIB
Enhanced vigilance and information to the Board
>10%
Contracting Counterparty
EIB
Contracting Counterparty Parent Co. Parent Co.
EIB
>10%
Parent Co. Parent Co.
Legend:
Prohibited jurisdiction Restricted jurisdiction Not an NCJ Parent Co. Parent Co. Parent Co. Parent Co.
>10% >10%
Type of jurisdiction: Applicable measures:
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“shall not enter into new or renewed operations with entities incorporated or established in…”
are:
IFIs,
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General tax disclosures TIQ Package
(TIQ)
Harmful preferential tax regimes
Summary information in the approval documents
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