REPORT on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EEC with regard to certain temporary provisions concerning rates of value added tax

on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC with regard to certain temporary provisions concerning rates of value added tax
(COM(2007)0381 – C6‑0253/2007 – 2007/0136(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2007)0381),

–   having regard to Article 93 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6‑0253/2007),

–   having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament on VAT rates other than standard VAT rates (COM(2007)0380),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A6‑0469/2007),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

Background

The proposal on which the EP is requested to deliver its opinion is a clear example of the risks and challenges lying ahead with regard to indirect taxation and its accommodation within the internal market.

The current structure of the VAT rates, far from being a system, is rather a snapshot of the actual VAT rates prevailing in the Member States at the moment the 1993 VAT harmonisation was undertaken. To this, further specific, tailor-made rates were added in the successive waves of accession of new Member States.

Against this background, the Commission has consistently reaffirmed that the attainment of the objective of establishing an internal market presupposes the application in Member States of legislation on turnover taxes that does not distort conditions of competition or hinder the free movement of goods and services. This purpose is served by means of a VAT system, such as will eliminate, as far as possible, factors which may distort conditions of competition, whether at national or Community level.

As regards more specifically VAT rates, and lacking the political agreement at the Council on how to move towards a definitive system of VAT based on taxation in the country of origin, certain derogations concerning the number and the level of rates are possible during the so-called "transitional" period. Within this framework, the Parliament has repeatedly and consistently called for Member States to be authorised to experiment with the operation and impact, in terms of job creation, of a reduction in the VAT rate applied to labour intensive services. In doing so, the European Parliament recalled several times that the transitional system has the advantage that it is totally unaffected by differences in VAT rates, as goods are zero rated in the country of origin, and taxed at the rate in force in the country of consumption. Thus for business to business transactions, there is no risk of a distortion of competition. Equally, for business to consumer transactions, there is also little risk of distortions as the VAT induced price differences are unlikely to cause major diversions of trade.

The Council, recognising the need for a better understanding of the impact of reduced rates, requested the Commission to prepare an assessment report on the impact of reduced rates applied to locally supplied services, notably in terms of job creation, economic growth and the proper functioning of the internal market. The experiment with reduced rates is currently running until 31 December 2010. In the meantime, the Commission has presented the results of this study in its communication COM(2007)380 of 4 July 2007. The findings of the study ("the Copenhagen Economics Study") are discussed further below.

The Commission recognises now that the VAT "definitive" system (i.e. a VAT based on taxation in the country of origin) has never been adopted and will not be adopted in the foreseeable future. In other words, what was thought to be "transitional arrangements" will stay in force until a new - unlikely- unanimous decision is adopted by the Council. In the case of the Member States which joined the EU after the 1st January 1995 the temporary derogations resulting from the accession negotiations apply for a more limited period of time, i.e. in many cases till the end of 2007. Whilst some of the derogations concerning the new Member States are now covered by the general provisions on reduced rates, it is a fact that some Member States will see their derogations expire whilst others would continue to benefit from them. As the Commission states correctly, "this difference in treatment provides unequal opportunities to Member States without any substantial justification and, due to this unfair character, would certainly create unacceptable tensions". Thus the proposal to extend some of the derogations until 31 December 2007 serves the purpose of ensuring equal opportunities amongst Member States whilst the overall assessment of the reduced rates is going on.

Assessment by your rapporteur

The current debate on the streamlining of the rates is part of the move towards a definitive system of VAT based on taxation in the country of origin, and it is clear that, at that point, it would be helpful to have a single rate band, with as few derogations as possible, as VAT accounting and controls by administrations otherwise would be quite difficult.

Unsurprisingly, this is confirmed by the Copenhagen Economics Study, which stresses that a single VAT rate is by far the best policy choice from a purely economic point of view, at least for two reasons, namely that a less complicated rate structure would generate substantial savings in compliance costs for business and tax administrations; and, secondly, because it could reduce distortions in the functioning of the internal market.

In this regard, your rapporteur stresses that the transitional system has the advantage that it is totally unaffected by differences in VAT rates, as goods are zero rated in the country of origin, and taxed at the rate in force in the country of consumption. Moreover, as the Copenhagen Economics Study underlines, there may be specific benefits from operating a reduced VAT in carefully targeted sectors, such as locally supplied services. It is undisputed that different VAT rates applied to locally supplied services are of no concern for the functioning of the internal market.

Your rapporteur is therefore satisfied to learn that the Commission shares the view there is room for manoeuvre to grant more autonomy to the Member States in setting reduced rates for local services which cannot be delivered from a remote location.

In order to tackle the problem of unemployment, those Member States wishing to do so should be allowed. That reduction is also likely to reduce the incentive for the businesses concerned to join or remain in the black economy.

However, such a reduction in the VAT rate is not without risk for the smooth functioning of the internal market and for tax neutrality. Provision should therefore be made for a monitoring procedure to be introduced for a period that is fixed but sufficiently long, also beyond 2010, so that it is possible to assess the impact of the reduced rates applied to locally supplied services. In order to make sure that such a measure remains verifiable and limited, its scope should be closely defined.

Some considerations on the current debate on the VAT reduced rates

In order to reduce uncertainties, and in line with the principles of good administration and subsidiarity, Member States should take a decision before 31 December 2010 on whether the so-called "definitive" system should be definitely abandoned. If, finally, the "definitive" system is indeed abandoned, then the justification for further harmonisation of the rates falls and Member States should be given, in principle, the possibility to apply reduced VAT rates on transactions that do not have a cross-border dimension (e.g. locally-supplied services).

The Council should reach before 2010 conclusions on the final structure of VAT rates, providing for more flexibility and room of manoeuvre for Member States. Member States should be able to apply different VAT rates as a structural element of their VAT regime, and not by way of derogation.

The Commission, based on the Copenhagen Economics Study, refers to possible ways to translate a certain number of objectives towards streamlining and making more coherent and efficient the architecture for reduced rates in the Community. These possible ways are: to allow for a very low rate for goods and services of first necessity such as food; and a second rate could be used for other purposes that are not basic needs but that are felt deserving of preferential treatment for other reasons (e.g. cultural and educational reasons, public transport, employment, energy and environment, etc).

Putting aside the inherent difficulties what such rates and for which good and services should they apply, and bearing in mind that the so-called "definitive" VAT system is not going to be in place in a foreseeable future, the Member States should be allowed to keep a degree of flexibility on how to use taxation to supplement other polices, especially where there is no single market arguments against rate differences. This is certainly the case of local services which cannot be delivered from a remote location.

Under the principle of subsidiarity, and once the definitive arrangements for taxation of intracommunity transactions has been decided by the end of 2010, Member States should be able to apply reduced VAT rates:

· for economic or social considerations to make basic goods and services affordable for every citizen;

· to reinforce the existence and maintenance of locally supplied services as well as their role in the formal economy.

The introduction of any definitive system, where Member States, on the basis of the margin of manoeuvre that they will enjoy in terms of fixing differentiated VAT rates, must be accompanied and guided by considerations of simplicity and transparency.

Conclusion

Since the debate on the VAT reduced rates is currently going on at the Council's level, it is only normal that the new Member States continue to benefit until 31 December 2010 from a derogation to apply the reduced rates, as proposed by the Commission, a proposal that your rapporteur fully supports. On specific grounds some of these derogations are not desirable any more. If there is no reason or a request for continuation of such derogations, it is not necessary to extend them.