New tax transparency requirements between multinational corporations and European governments may be broadened further this year to encompass public disclosure of the companies’ tax arrangements in Europe.

… The bill, if approved by European governments, would oblige national tax authorities to inform each other and the commission about tax deals they agree with multinational corporations.

… Under the draft bill, which must be approved the 28 European Union governments, the disclosure of so-called tax rulings would happen every three months and would include deals going back 10 years.

Because governments lowering their tax rates—whether as competition between nations for business investments or just because it’s good for the citizens they serve—is anathema to social democrats. That would be too business friendly. Never mind that being business friendly (which cronyism most assuredly is not) is being jobs- and employment friendly, and so it’s being consumer- and citizen friendly. Social democrats just can’t read past that business friendly part.