Csaba Sógor: the existance of offshore tax havens leads to the loss of citizens’ confidence
The database containing 13,4 million files about offshore investments, the so-called Paradise Papers case leaked in the beginning of November was on the agenda of the European Parliament’s plenary session this week, in Strasbourg. Csaba Sógor expressed his thoughts on the Tuesday debate: in the case of offshore tax havens beside state budgets it’s democracy and free market-economy that are most in danger.
“If the wide public discovers that the governing powerful do not respect rules - even if they are not violating any laws - this could lead to a fatal loss of confidence” said the politician from Transylvania. According to Csaba Sógor representative democracy has to focus on the interest of citizens, therefore it is not enough to state that no laws were violated. “This practice has to stop, the hypocrisy has to end”, stated the MEP.
The MEPs asked member states in the Wednesday debate on the rule of law in Malta that they assign resources to investigate tax fraud and make the process a priority. Recently, there has been an enormous scandal in Malta over the homicide of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who researched offshore transactions.
“We often accept resolutions concerning the protection of personal security of journalists who perform activities in underdeveloped countries, outside the EU. It is important to remind ourselves that members of the press can fall victims to organised crime in the EU, too", argued Csaba Sógor.
