On 27 March 2019, the European Parliament resolved to adopt, with amendments, the Commission's proposal for a directive to amend the Accounting Directive (2013/34/EU) as regards disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches.

The amendments to the Commission's proposal include:

  • Clarification that ultimate parent undertakings with a consolidated turnover of at least EUR 750 million (rather than over EUR 750 million) must publish reports.
  • All subsidiaries (as opposed to only medium or large subsidiaries) controlled by an ultimate parent undertaking which has on its balance sheet in a financial year a consolidated net turnover of at least EUR 750 million must publish reports.
  • The report must be published in a common template in at least one of the official languages of the EU and must be made available free of charge. On the date of publication, the relevant undertaking must also file the report in a public registry managed by the Commission.
  • Additional information to be contained in the report, including:
    • the name of the undertaking and a list of its subsidiaries (where applicable) and a brief description of the nature of their activities and their respective geographical location;
    • fixed assets other than cash or cash equivalents;
    • a distinction between the net turnover made with related parties and that made with unrelated parties;
    • stated capital;
    • details of subsidies received, and donations made; and
    • whether undertakings, subsidiaries or branches benefit from preferential tax treatment, from a patent box or from equivalent regimes.
  • The information must be presented separately for each tax jurisdiction.
  • Member States may approve the temporary omission of specific items of commercially sensitive information from the report. Such omissions must be indicated in the report and explained and must receive prior authorisation from the national competent authority.

The European Parliament's resolution and adopted text is available here.

The Commission's proposal is available here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.