Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-01-Speech-4-011"
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"en.20051201.3.4-011"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, I am grateful to you, Commissioner, for giving us hope with your speech. I think that we can use all the optimism we can get in VAT legislation, because whilst everyone is full of better legislation and good governance, we notice the opposite is true in two of the three topics that are on the agenda.
I welcome the simplification of the regulations on VAT refunds to those liable to pay tax who are based in a different Member State. Enterprises, including the smallest among them and also all SMEs, will now all be given the opportunity of actually claiming their money back within an acceptable period of time. Those of us who are members of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats can only endorse this.
There is also, however, the proposal to extend the threshold of the normal VAT rate. It is, of course, a good thing that this extension should be proposed, and we support it, but we do find it a bit dramatic to introduce a measure of this kind less than 30 days before the deadline arrives and the successor enters into effect. Anyway, everyone knows what is coming. A decision will be taken at a later date, after which everyone will be able to relax for another five years.
Worse, though, are the difficulties – and I cannot describe them as anything else – surrounding Annex K and, indirectly, also Annex H to the sixth VAT Directive. The experiment involving the reduced VAT rate for labour-intensive services has been running for double the amount of time originally planned. The Council just cannot manage to make an assessment and take decisions.
The sectors to which we, the Commission and Parliament, had, in 2003, held out the hope of a reduced VAT rate – the hotel and catering industry, the building industry, but also laundries and garden maintenance businesses – all these sectors remain wanting. The Council is not saying ‘yes’ and it is not saying ‘no’; the Council is taking no decisions and is absent from this Chamber. We are creating uncertainty, and uncertainty is detrimental to economic development. This, at a time when we are desperate for growth and more employment, is unacceptable. Commissioner, we are counting on your support in the debate with the Council. For the rest, we fully endorse the two Becsey reports and the resolution linked to the oral question."@en1
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