Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-23-Speech-3-338"
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"en.20021023.10.3-338"2
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"Mr President, I also welcome the progress made in this report on the Fiscalis programme for the next five years. I would particularly like to welcome and draw attention to the statement in the common position. As the rapporteur has already mentioned, it points out that this is not a political programme, but one designed to enhance administrative cooperation between Member States' tax officials. It is important that we are clear about this objective. We are talking here about improving administration, and not in any way about tax harmonisation.
When it was first proposed that the extension of the programme was going to be aimed at direct taxation, there was a lot of concern, particularly in the UK, that this might lead to measures to introduce harmonisation of direct taxes. We therefore welcome the fact that the common position clearly states this will not happen.
If I may speak on behalf of the UK once again, we particularly welcome this because we have been among the most active users of the Fiscalis programme over the last few years. We think it is very valuable, so I would certainly be concerned if anything happened to detract from the programme and make it more difficult for certain Member States to take part in it.
The programme has much to offer. It has introduced exchanges of officials; it has introduced seminars on tax issues of common interest; it has provided multilateral control exercises, it has developed professional training, such as audit skills; it has improved language training and it has maintained and developed communication and information exchange systems. That is all very good stuff and to be welcomed, continued and improved upon. What we are always trying to do in these sort of situations is improve the way that the systems work and get things to work better. Certainly, that has been one of the achievements of the Fiscalis programme.
Therefore, it is to be regretted, as the Commissioner said, that we are seeing a cut in the budget. All we can hope is that the budget, as it now stands, will be adequate to take the programme forward. So, on the whole, I welcome the common position and the fact that it looks as if we are going to be able to achieve an agreement and get the programme extended. I also welcome the fact that we are very clear now that this is not about tax harmonisation in any way, but about administrative systems."@en1
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