EU eyes up national veto in company tax law
Well I suppose it was due to happen, the European Commission under the enhanced cooperation method is in the process of circumventing the veto of five states with regards to the national company (corporation) tax law. Ireland, the UK, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovakia are the countries affected and it will mean that by a target date of 2008, all EU member states will have a harmonised corporate tax base or so hopes EU tax commissioner Laszlo Kovacs.
The opposition to this moves from the five countries are based on the premise that this is merely a prelude with Brussels aiming for input into the national levels of their corporate taxes as well.
The commissioner has stated if opposition persists, Brussels intends to move ahead with the other 20 member states under the "enhanced cooperation" mechanism in the EC treaty. The enhanced co-operation is an instrument enshrined in the EC treaty which has so far never been used. It also for a limited number of member states to push forward with initiatives that are blocked by other member states, in essence this was to prevent the growing numbers of members in the EU from being strangled by vetos left, right and center during negotations by a small minority.
For a better coverage see [here (EUObserver) and here (EURActiv)].
I wonder what Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has to say on all this given his more than strident defense of this particular hot chestnut whilst Minsiter of Finance ? To be fair he seems to be stuck defending his own social model opinions with Sweden which makes for a nice excuse to ignore the one topic he once swore would never occur on his watch. Maybe the current Minister, Brian Cowen will be able to achieve something ...... (yeah right) I suppose there is always the next election.
The opposition to this moves from the five countries are based on the premise that this is merely a prelude with Brussels aiming for input into the national levels of their corporate taxes as well.
The commissioner has stated if opposition persists, Brussels intends to move ahead with the other 20 member states under the "enhanced cooperation" mechanism in the EC treaty. The enhanced co-operation is an instrument enshrined in the EC treaty which has so far never been used. It also for a limited number of member states to push forward with initiatives that are blocked by other member states, in essence this was to prevent the growing numbers of members in the EU from being strangled by vetos left, right and center during negotations by a small minority.
For a better coverage see [here (EUObserver) and here (EURActiv)].
I wonder what Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has to say on all this given his more than strident defense of this particular hot chestnut whilst Minsiter of Finance ? To be fair he seems to be stuck defending his own social model opinions with Sweden which makes for a nice excuse to ignore the one topic he once swore would never occur on his watch. Maybe the current Minister, Brian Cowen will be able to achieve something ...... (yeah right) I suppose there is always the next election.
posted by Eoin Brazil at
4:56 p.m.
1 Comments:
While I'm not at liberty to say exactly what I will do in my first 100 hundred days in the department of finance, harmonisation of tax levels in not something I will do even if there is a gun to my head.
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Unknown, at 8:47 p.m.
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