Whistleblowing is not a crime! EPSU in Luxembourg to support LuxLeaks defendants

(22 December 2016) The LuxLeaks whistleblowers, Antoine Deltour and Raphaël Halet, have faced another day in court. They are appealing against their convictions for taking documents revealing the industrial scale of tax avoidance orchestrated by their former employer, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

EPSU joined supporters of the whistleblowers in attending the hearing to show our solidarity. Without these two men, the Luxembourg’s practice of granting tax advantages to big multinationals, often resulting in effective tax rates below one percent, would never have come to light.

The LuxLeaks scandal, which broke in late 2014, has led to a wide-ranging debate at national and European level on tax dodging by multinationals. Whilst there is still much to do to crack down on corporate tax avoidance, LuxLeaks has already led to improved European cooperation and better rules on tax dodging.

EPSU is fighting for more transparency and tighter rules. Public country-by-country reporting be up for debate in the new year. It should oblige on big multinationals to declare where they make their profits and pay taxes, making it easier to spot tax dodging.

We also are campaigning for EU legislation to protect whistleblowers, so what has happened to Deltour and Halet can’t happen to others. We have joined trade unions and civil society across  Europe to call for the EU to take action to protect whistleblowers.

You can sign the call at https://whistleblowerprotection.eu/

Luxembourg