“I read today in FT that Europe is rushing through taxation laws to compel large multinationals to state revenue and sales per country and to be far more transparent. ie with a view to properly tax them. law could be passed this summer! Does this not have potentially huge ramifications for the aristocratic dividend stocks we all love to own? Perhaps there might even be the case for back-paying previously owed taxes? Best regards”

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for bringing this article to our attention. Here is a section:

Michel Barnier, EU commissioner for the single market, is working on legislative options for the disclosure rules, including by amending an existing proposal from April on corporate reporting of social and environmental issues.

An alternative fast-track approach is for EU lawmakers to table amendments to new rules on accounting issues, which are almost agreed and is expected to be voted through by the European Parliament next month.

Mr Barnier told the Financial Times: “It is necessary that large companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon that we have recently spoken a lot about – but not only these – are obliged to report how much tax they pay to whom and where.

The fact is that governments are cash-strapped, face resistance to additional tax hikes on voters and corporations represent conspicuous targets ripe for special scrutiny not least because they have cash. Regardless of whether we agree with a more aggressive taxation of corporations, it is becoming an increasingly likely scenario.

We can also expect corporations to be equally aggressive in writing down costs, slimming labour forces and doing whatever is necessary to maintain margins. The outcome for governments might not be as rosy as they anticipate. The final shape of any laws that come into force and the timetable for implementation is not yet clear. The stock market does not yet appear to be paying attention to this story.