EU, a new VAT plan
The European Commission has issued a VAT Action Plan which sets out plans for the next two years for the modernization of VAT in the European Union. The Commission should propose legislation and to introduce common EU-wide measures to simplify the rules to help small and start-up businesses in e-commerce and streamline audits for companies engaged in this sector by the end of 2016. In addition, the Commission will seek to improve cooperation between tax administrations including countries outside the EU, customs and law enforcement agencies, in order to strengthen the capacity of tax administrations to combat fraud. The Commission will also provide an opportunity to have a lot of freedom for setting rates of value added tax for the states of the European Union. Existing rules on tax rates that have been developed over two decades ago, in order to ensure neutrality, simplicity and adaptability to the VAT system. The Commission has proposed the freedom to establish rates subject to appropriate safeguards to prevent excessive complexity and distortions of competition and that there was no impact on the functioning of the single market. The Commission has put forward two...
