Tag: Taxes

Denmark's recently introduced tax on food and drinks is driving shoppers to neighbouring Germany at an unprecedented level, according to a survey by the Danish Grocers’ Trade Organisation (DSK).

To keep Polish workers in Britain from cutting ties with their native country, Poland has signed an agreement to end the punishing double taxation of Poles working in the UK.

The delocalisation problem is overblown and the freezing of the services directive is unfair, says Hungary’s socialist minister of European affairs, Etele Baráth in an exclusive interview with EurActiv.

Finance Ministers have agreed with the Commission not to grant Switzerland any more concessions in the EU's negotiations about opening up the country's secretive banking system to prevent tax evasion.

Belgium's decision to block a key element of the 3 June deal on an EU tax package has now put the fate of the package in a limbo again.

Concluding 14 years of discussions, the EU's finance ministers agreed on 3 June on a regime for the taxation of savings across Europe.

On 13 May, the EU's finance ministers made a "political" commitment to conclude debates on the Union's comprehensive tax package by June 2003. The next ECOFIN meeting is scheduled for 3 June.

This paper analyses the possible approaches in designing an efficient trans-border corporate tax system for the European Union.

On 17 February 2003, high level representatives of the rail, automotive and aviation sectors as well as the Commission discussed the concept of "sustainable mobility" with regard to current trends in EU transport policy.

In its submission to the Convention, the Confederation of British Industry argues that the Union has generally failed to deliver on its promise to cut red tape.

Taxation Commissioner Frits Bolkenstein presented a report to the Commission on 27 November on the status of its negotiations with non-EU countries on the taxation of savings revenue.

At an EU conference on company taxation on 29-30 April, EU Actors gave considerable support to the Commission's proposal that companies should ultimately be allowed to use a single consolidated tax base for their EU-wide business activities.

A new study published by CEPS (the Centre for European Policy Studies) proposes a Corporate Tax Action Plan as a means of achieving corporate tax reform in the EU.

A new study by the Goethe University, ordered by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, concludes a Tobin-like tax is feasible.

The EU has agreed to Poland's demand for an exemption from EU rules setting high minimum excise tax rates on cigarettes, in order to prevent a sharp increase in tobacco prices in the country. The exemption will run until 2009.

The Commission is expected to publish a report on alcohol excise duties within the next two months. According to an article in Financial Times, the Brussels executive would like to propose a new minimum duty on alcoholic beverages. These plans could have a serious impact on the brewers industries in several Member States.

During its meeting on 12 February, the Economic and Finance Ministers reached a political agreement on the VAT and e-commerce Directive, subject to the Parliament's opinion. The Directive applies to certain services supplied by electronic means, as well as subscription-based and pay-per-view radio and television broadcasting.

The European Parliament approved, with amendments, the Commission's proposal on tobacco tax harmonisation. Internal Market Commissioner Bolkestein could not, however, accept the amendments, as he believes the Parliament's approach would "lead to less rather than more harmonisation of tobacco taxes".

In an interview with 'The Independent', Mr Laurent Fabius, the French Finance Minister, said "membership of the euro would erode tax differences between the UK and other EU countries". He added this could possibly bring about rises in British taxes whilst reducing those on the Continent.

The European Parliament refused to give its opinion on the Directive to harmonise tobacco tax. Although the Parliament only has advisory powers on this issue it did in effect hereby delay the procedure for at least two months.

EU finance ministers agreed on the harmonisation of excise on tobacco at their meeting on 6 November. They addressed a number of other issues, including several that could well prove to be controversial such as company taxation harmonisation, cross-border payment costs, and the financial implications of the EU's ageing population.

The Commission has adopted a Communication proposing a two track strategy to remove tax obstacles in the internal market. It initially suggests a set of targeted measures with a longer term aim of a consolidated corporate tax base for companies' EU wide activities.

An informal meeting of EU transport and environment ministers in Louvain-la-neuve (Belgium) on 15 September 2001, called for a global tax on aviation fuel as a tool to diminish the environmental impact of air travel. EU ministers will try to get the tax on the agenda of the assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, at the end of September.

During an SPD-party conference, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said the critics of uneven trade relations or currency speculation are in "good company". Mr Schröder says globalisation cannot be reversed, but that a Tobin tax would pose lots of practical problems.