Reducing taxation on labour, while ensuring budget neutrality by shifting it towards consumption taxes, recurrent taxes on immovable property and environmental taxes can help correcting market inefficiencies and lay foundations for a sustained rates of growth and job creation.The efficiency of the tax system can be enhanced by broadening tax bases, such as removing or reducing the use and generosity of exemptions and preferential regimes, and by strengthening the tax administration, simplifying the tax system, and combatting tax fraud and aggressive tax planning.

Automatic exchange of information between the Member States would be mandatory for directors’ fees, dividends, capital gains, royalties and life assurance products not covered by other EU legal instruments relating to the exchange of information and similar measures and the resultant pensions, property ownership and revenue.

6. Is of the opinion that, under normal circumstances, the policy of purchasing offices and buildings should be continued especially since, over the years, this policy has served the European Parliament's interests well, generating savings and thus making it possible to fund other projects; is of the opinion, however, that some institutions may be adopting this policy solely for the sake of acquiring property; requests that this policy take into account supporting evidence such as area/volume of office space per employee and give due attention to the considerable costs, such as security and maintenance, especially as building costs account for over 16% of heading 5; insists also that institutions should present for each future acquisition pr ...[+++]oposal an indication of the additional related costs that would result in the medium term; recommends the implementation of a policy of multiannual property investment planning instead of an annual plan;

6. Is of the opinion that, under normal circumstances, the policy of purchasing offices and buildings should be continued especially since, over the years, this policy has served the European Parliament's interests well, generating savings and thus making it possible to fund other projects; is of the opinion, however, that some institutions may be adopting this policy solely for the sake of acquiring property; requests that this policy take into account supporting evidence such as area/volume of office space per employee and give due attention to the considerable costs, such as security and maintenance, especially as building costs account for over 16% of heading 5; insists also that institutions should present for each future acquisition pr ...[+++]oposal an indication of the additional related costs that would result in the medium term; recommends the implementation of a policy of multiannual property investment planning instead of an annual plan;

6. Is of the opinion that, under normal circumstances, the policy of purchasing offices and buildings should be continued especially since, over the years, this policy has served the European Parliament's interests well, generating savings and thus making it possible to fund other projects; is of the opinion, however, that some institutions may be adopting this policy solely for the sake of acquiring property; requests that this policy take into account supporting evidence such as area/volume of office space per employee and give due attention to the considerable costs, such as security and maintenance, especially as building costs account for over 16% of heading 5; insists also that institutions should present for each future acquisition pr ...[+++]oposal an indication of the additional related costs that would result in the medium term; recommends the implementation of a policy of multiannual property investment planning instead of an annual plan;

Gilles Duguay, Director General, Parliamentary Precinct Services and Brigitte Desjardins, Director, Real Property Planning, updated the Committee on various LTVP projects and answered questions.