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W/C Monday, 31 May - US to reveal retaliatory tariffs against four European countries over digital taxes; Yellen to respond to Republican queries on OECD talks
In the United States, two deadlines of relevance to ongoing efforts at securing a global tax deal will pass this week. A statutory deadline to publish retaliatory tariffs against Spain, Italy, Austria, the UK, India and Turkey over their decisions to implement national digital taxes - which the US says are targeted at American companies - passes on Tuesday. The US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, said on 13 May that the list will be published by the beginning of June. It is expected that she will announce that tariffs on imports of goods worth billions of dollars will be suspended in order to provide more time for negotiations at the OECD, which Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, said had "begun in earnest" two weeks ago.
Meanwhile Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee have asked the Treasury Secretary to reply to a letter sent on Tuesday which outlined concerns that proposals made during the ongoing OECD talks could have a negative effect on US companies and subsequently federal revenue receipts. Mike Crapo, the lead Republican on the committee, has asked for a reply before Friday, 4 June.
As a reminder, the OECD is hoping to conclude a top-level deal on the taxation of the digital economy, as well as agreement on a minimum global corporate tax, during the summer, with fine details to be ironed out later in the year.
W/C Monday, 31 May - European Parliament deadline for amendments to MiCA regulation, as Commission consultation on tax fraud and evasion ends
Today is the last day on which MEPs can submit proposals for amendments to the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation proposed by the Commission last September. Following the publication of the draft of the MiCA regulation, the European Parliament produced a draft report in February which proposed various amendments, including one which would see the ECB given power to decide on the entry criteria to the EU payments markets for stablecoins.
It is understood that other amendments to the MiCA proposals will focus on the impact on the environment of the mining of virtual currencies, as well as provisions guarding against money laundering in the new market.
The deadline for submission to the European Commission's consultation on strengthening rules on tax fraud and evasion also passes on Wednesday. The Commission is consulting in order to evaluate the need for new reporting rules covering the taxation of e-money and crypto assets such as stablecoins.
Tuesday, 1 June - EU Public Prosecutor's office to begin operations
The European Public Prosecutor's Office will become operational on Tuesday. Established by a regulation passed in 2017, the EPPO will operate under the enhanced co-operation procedure provided for by the treaties and will cover 22 of the 27 member states. Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland have opted not to participate in the EPPO. The body's remit will include conducting criminal investigations and seeking prosecutions where crimes against the budget of the EU are detected.
In a statement confirming the opening of the new office, the European Commission's Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Vara Jourova, said that the EPPO would ensure that "no euro is lost in fraud and corruption".