Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-11-22-Speech-1-078"
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"en.20101122.14.1-078"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the European Parliament and, in particular, David Casa, for his constructive and quick report on the Commission’s proposal to extend by five years the existing rules on the minimum standard VAT rate. This proposal is simple and is not controversial.
A quick opinion of the European Parliament on the Commission’s proposal will allow the Council to adopt the proposal before the end of the year – just in time, before the current rule expires. The proposal has indeed already been discussed in the Council working party. No obstacle appeared to a speedy approval.
As stated by David Casa, the Commission’s proposal will give businesses the necessary legal certainty and allow further evaluation of the appropriate level of the standard VAT rate at EU level.
The Commission will indeed launch very soon a broad debate on the future of VAT in order to evaluate and address the numerous shortcomings in the EU VAT system such as its complexity, the high level of administrative burdens for businesses, and fraud.
Before the end of the year, I will propose to my fellow Commissioners the publication of a Green Paper on the evaluation of the current system and preferable ways forward for the future. I am looking forward to reactions as regards such issues as how to achieve a simpler, more robust and modern VAT system and how to reduce collection and compliance costs for businesses, in particular, SMEs, whilst limiting fraud and providing flexibility for Member States. On the basis of the results obtained, the Commission will define its future policy in the VAT area in a Communication on the way forward at the end of 2011.
The amendments tabled clearly demonstrate the Parliament’s interest in participating in this discussion on the future VAT strategy. I welcome this sign of interest and hope to have a fruitful debate with you on this important issue at a later stage. However, I consider that these amendments are outside the scope of the proposal discussed today, which is limited to extending the period during which the minimum standard rate applies. Moreover, some of the amendments pre-empt a debate we should have on the basis of the Green Paper. This applies, in particular, to the amendment which requests the Commission to come up with a proposal on definitive rules on VAT rates by 2013.
At this stage, the Commission cannot commit on a date to table a proposal on VAT rates. It cannot predict the outcome of the consultation, whose scope will be broader than the VAT rates. I hope that this consultation will give a clear idea of the priorities for the future of VAT. The Commission’s planning for future legislative proposals will therefore depend to a great extent on the outcome of this consultation."@en1
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