Common system of value added tax - duration of the obligation to respect a minimum standard rate

Key points:

The Committee

• endorses the proposed directive extending the minimum standard rate for VAT at 15%. It is indeed desirable to set a minimum rate of this kind, in the interests of the proper functioning of the internal market;

• calls for further efforts to be made to move away from the current transitional VAT system, which has been in place for more than 20 years, towards a definitive VAT regime tailored to the European internal market;

• reaffirms the need for a simple, harmonised indirect taxation system, reducing the administrative burden and bringing patent benefits for businesses and individuals, guaranteeing fair taxation and certain revenue for public finances, reducing the risks of tax fraud, and contributing to the further development and completion of the internal market;
• welcomes the Commission's decision to issue, in March 2016, an Action Plan on the Future of VAT. In the Committee's view, it is important to support the much-needed continued economic revival and growth by all possible means, and a tailored VAT regime is part of that.