It has been promising it for several months and it is now taking action. On Thursday 18 January, the European Commission will propose to give the member states back the freedom to set reduced, super-reduced or zero VAT rates.
At the moment, the VAT directive contains an annex that lists the products and services eligible for reduced rates (between 5% and the standard rate of 15%). On top of this, more than 250 derogations have been awarded to the various member states allowing them to apply...