Brussels, 31/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The conference organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftong in collaboration with the Association of European taxpayers and the SME-Union in Brussels on 28 May on "Reducing Taxes now - SMEs pay to much tax in Europe", analysed the difficulties facing sall and medium-sized enterprises in ensuring their financial expansion and allowed members to discuss tax schemes in Europe, the link between taxes and economic growth, and the situation in Europe in relation to that of the United States. The main message was that taxes on SMEs need reducing, if we want the Lisbon Strategy to be carried out.
At the end of the work, in which MEPs, ministerial representatives, social partners with the UEAPME (European Union of crafts and small and medium sized enterprises) and high-level experts like Professor Ruchard K. Vedder (Ohio University, USA) took part, the co-chair of SME-Union, Jacques Santer MEP and former President of the European Commission, qualified the debate as having bee "enriching and refreshing for the ideas of all the partners". Mr. Santer notably stated that: 1) the United States places special emphasis on tax competition and is against any possible tax alignment ("like me as Luxembourger"), he commented. According to him, this debate needs pursuing, as "we still have to learn from our American friends"; 2) the importance of the tax issue for the development of economic growth in Europe and the world was recognised; 3) tax policy continues to be an essential regularisation instrument for an open social economy. Yet, noted Santer, currently the level of growth is stagnating, public investments are falling, and SMEs are vulnerable to the direct and accumulated effects of tax impediments. "SMEs are the driving force of growth and job-creation in the EU (…). A European growth strategy must integrate the expectations of SMEs and an in-depth reform of tax schemes"; 4) the smooth running of the internal market owes a great deal to a more targeted and flexible tax policy; 5) two years after the setting up of the Lisbon Strategy, the EU is beginning to run up against problems "that are no strangers to ongoing electoral campaigns". Concluding, Santer noted that sustainable economic growth in Europe is especially based on the commitments made in the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact.