European Parliament Lawmaker Laments Stuck EU Shell Companies Rule

A draft European Union law on identifying potential shell companies is stuck amid disagreements between the bloc’s countries, a lawmaker said Tuesday.

While Denmark and the Netherlands are “really pushing for this file,” other EU countries want it downgraded from a rule that would require sanctions against tax-avoiding shell structures to an “exchange of information,” said Paul Tang, chair of the European Parliament’s tax subcommittee, speaking at an event organized by the EU Tax Observatory.

• The European Commission, the EU’s executive, proposed the Unshell Directive in December 2021. It would require companies to provide basic economic substance information to tax ...