Brussels, 22/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 22 July, the European Commission sent two reasoned opinions to Austria, calling upon the country to make changes to some of its tax rules.
Firstly, the Commission is asking Vienna to change its rules on the VAT treatment of resale rights of works of art. In Austria, VAT is charged on the resale of works of art. As there is no contractual relationship of any kind between the buyer and the artist, the Commission considers that this is an infringement of article 2 of the VAT directive. Its opinion is furthermore in line with the judgement of the Court of Justice (C-16/93, Tolsma), which stipulates that there must be a legal relationship between the provider of the service and the recipient in order for that service to be taxable. The Commission originally wrote to Vienna on the subject in October 2014.
The European Commission is also asking Austria to modify its rules requiring non-resident taxpayers to appoint a representative to handle their tax affairs on their behalf, unlike taxpayers who are resident in Austria. The Commission considers that these rules result in discriminatory treatment on the grounds of nationality and run counter to the right to free movement of goods, capital, services and people. An initial letter was sent to Vienna in March 2014. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)