Brussels, 27/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 27 March, the European finance ministers adopted without debate extremely cautious conclusions on the coordination of the direct taxation systems of the member states in the internal market, on the basis of three specific communications which the Commission adopted at the end of December (see EUROPE 9331).
Like the Commission, the Council pointed out that the member states are free to organise their direct taxation system in order to respond to the objectives and requirements of internal policy, as long as this competence is carried out in full respect of Community law. It stressed that the functioning of the internal market could be improved by cooperation in the field of taxation between the member states and, if needs be, at European level. The ministers state that they are “aware” of the interest in engaging in discussions on improving cooperation in specific fields of direct taxation, in order to guarantee the compatibility of the national direct taxation systems, within the framework of Community law. The member states are called upon to continue their work with the Commission to “define the fields” in which it may be necessary to reinforce coordination. The mechanisms of administrative cooperation laid down in the mutual assistance directive and directive 76/308/EEC on debt recovery should also, according to the Council, be applied more specifically.
The Commission listed three key principles to guarantee a coherent and coordinated tax treatment: removing discrimination and double taxation, avoiding involuntary non-taxation and abuses, and reducing the costs of bringing into line taxation under more than one fiscal system. (mb)