Brussels, 07/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 7 November Eero Heinäluoma, the Finnish minister of finance declared that ““we have not succeeded in obtaining an agreement” on the draft directive amending tax thresholds on merchandise accompanying travellers entering the European Union. The Finnish presidency wants to return to this dossier during the next Ecofin Council.
The most controversial elements included the question of “how much duty-free alcohol is allowed” when travelling? The Finnish presidency proposed to set the rate of the tax threshold at €300 as opposed to the current €175, without making a distinction between the mode of transport used for re-entering the EU (EUROPE 9298). Some Member States consider that this limit is too low, others want to see further decreases, indicated the Finnish minister. A European source indicated that Gordon Brown, British Chancellor of the Exchequer was willing to accept a threshold of €350. The Netherlands, however, rejected the British proposal on the calculation of the tax threshold for non Euro-zone countries, as it believed that such a situation would go against equal treatment. Luxembourg is in favour of setting different thresholds according to the means of transport used for returning to the EU, as proposed by the Commission (EUROPE 9140. (mb)