Mr. Paul Tang:

As I told Senator O'Donnell earlier, this is a relevant point. We still have an outside border, even if there is a European tax base. The fact that there is a European tax base makes it more difficult to avoid taxes. One of the reasons the Netherlands has been pivotal in the tax avoidance industry is because we did not have any source taxes on royalties and interest so that companies would move from Portugal, through the Netherlands and then outside, because we were borderless. One cannot exploit differences between the tax system and make the best of it, it is more complicated. Nevertheless, one still needs a border. I think the proposal is not enough on its own to tackle tax avoidance. It is a crucial change to the rules of the game but one also must consider withdrawal taxes, source taxes, defining what the border of Europe is. Europe is now borderless for capital. If the Deputy or I want to go anywhere we will need a passport; capital does not. We do know who owns it, where it goes, or what the purpose is. We are talking about tax avoidance but it is also the case in terrorism finance or money laundering where we simply do not know. We are lagging behind.