Brussels, 18/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - France and Germany want faster progress in the talks on tax coordination in Europe despite resistance from Ireland in particular, and will soon be unveiling ideas on a harmonised company tax. Paris and Berlin said in August 2011 that at some point in 2013, they wanted to introduce the same rate of company tax in both countries, calculated the same way.
In preparation for this tax harmonisation between the two nations, France and Germany are backing the draft legislation unveiled by the European Commission in September 2011 for a Financial Transactions Tax, and will present proposals on converging their company tax systems between now and the end of next month, says a Franco-German position paper. In addition, they want a speeding up of tax coordination in Europe. Agreement in principle was reached last year by a large number of member states in the Euro Pact Plus, but nothing has yet been done. Harmonisation of company tax in Europe is fiercely opposed by Ireland (which has a very low company tax rate) and Slovakia.
Paris and Berlin have repeated their backing for a Financial Transactions Tax and want faster EU negotiations over a carbon tax.
The Franco-German suggestions include cutting unemployment by forcing job centres to make a genuine job offer to every unemployed person, expanding apprenticeship schemes, reducing the cost of hiring, tackling social dumping, encouraging job-seekers to look for work in other countries and new measures for small businesses (cutting red tape and encouraging risk-capital). France and Germany want consideration to be given to setting up a Growth and Competitiveness Fund for countries in receipt of international aid (at present, Greece, Ireland and Portugal). (LC/transl.fl)