Brussels, 17/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 17 June, Laszlo Kovacs, the European Commissioner for taxation declared that he still intended to present a draft directive in the second half of the year under the French presidency, to harmonise the corporate tax band (EUROPE 9638). The Commissioner informed Reuters that, “there is no reason to change our plans concerning tax policy initiatives. The common consolidated corporate tax band (CCCTB) is in the pipeline”. There is still the ongoing impact study at the Commission into the advantages and disadvantages of the CCCTB, which is expected to be completed before or after the summer.
Tax was one of the questions at the heart of the Irish referendum campaign and those calling for rejection of the Lisbon treaty raised the fear of their country losing fiscal sovereignty. The Lisbon treaty does not in fact amend the Treaty of Nice provisions at all, which impose unanimity at the EU Council on any decisions in this area. Kovacs underlined the fact that, “All those that campaigned against the Lisbon treaty with slogans that Ireland will lose tax sovereignty were simply telling lies”.
The CCCTB is strongly supported by countries like Germany and France and will harmonise the corporate tax base level. It is optional and is expected to facilitate business in several member states by getting rid of tax barriers linked to cross-border compensation for profits and losses, transfer prices and mergers and fusions operations. It is opposed by member states such as the United Kingdom, which is refusing to confer the EU with further competencies in the tax domain. Ireland sees the CCCTB as a way of taking action on tax rates, whilst Slovakia and some Baltic states refuse to threaten their attractiveness to foreign investors by way of their “flat tax”. The draft directive introducing the CCCTB was initially proposed to all member states and could be subject to strengthened cooperation that bring together member states that want the tax, provided that there are at least 8 of them. (M.B./trans/r.h.)