WRITTEN QUESTION E-0920/00

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 March 2000)

Subject: Tax groups

Can the Commission please provide details of all formal and informal groups and committees currently active in the field of taxation and taxation policy at EU level?

Specifically, could the Commission please state:

(a) the remit of these groups,

(b) their composition,

(c) the date these groups first met, and

(d) what future meetings are scheduled?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(10 May 2000)

The following committees and working groups are currently operating in the taxation field under the auspices of the Commission:

- The Value Added Tax Committee, composed of representatives of the administrations concerned and chaired by a Commission official, is a forum for discussion of VAT issues and gives its opinion, in an advisory capacity, on all questions of application of the Sixth VAT Directive. It was established on the basis of Article 29 of the Sixth VAT Directive (77/388/EEC)(1). The Committee met first on 23/24 November 1977. The next meeting is scheduled for 27 June 2000.

- The Excise Committee is composed of representatives of the indirect tax administrations of Member States and is chaired by a Commission official. It acts as a committee assisting the Commission in its tasks of laying down measures for the application of certain provisions of Council Directive 92/12/CEE of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding movement and monitoring of such products(2) (under the regulatory committee procedure) and, as a forum allowing Member States to discuss about matters concerning the application and interpretation of Community excise provisions. It meets three or four times per year. It met for the first time on 7/8 May 1992 and its next meeting is scheduled for 6/7 July 2000.

- The Standing Committee on Administrative Co-operation (SCAC), composed of representatives of the administrations concerned and chaired by a Commission official, is the forum for discussing administrative co-operation. It deals with the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 218/92 of 27 January 1992 on administrative co-operation in the field of indirect taxation(3) and Council Directive 77/799/EEC of 19 December 1977 concerning mutual assistance by the competent authorities of the Member States(4). It also acts as the management committee for the Fiscalis programme under Parliament and Council Decision No 888/98/EC of 30 March 1998 establishing a programme of Community action to ameliorate the indirect taxation systems of the internal market (Fiscalis programme)(5). SCAC has three specialised subcommittees: SCAF (Anti-Fraud Subcommittee), SCAT (Training Subcommittee) and SCIT (Information Technology Subcommittee). The SCAC was established by Regulation 218/92 of 27 January 1992. It met for the first time on 10 and 11 January 1992 (although a first meeting took place before the establishment of the Committee as such, on 20/21 January 1992). The next meeting is planned for 11/12 July 2000.

- The Taxation Policy Group, composed of the Finance Ministers' personal representatives and chaired by the member of the Commission with special responsibility for taxation, was set up to provide a forum for the informal discussion of current taxation policy issues in the context of the Community objectives of reducing distortions of competition in the single market, preventing significant erosion of Member States' tax revenues and promoting job creation. It met for the first time on 11 March 1997, a meeting took place on 5 May 2000 and a further meeting is likely to take place in July 2000. A subgroup composed of representatives of the tax administrations was established to look into the tax arrangements applicable to supplementary pension schemes and life assurance policies. It met for first time on 11 January 1999 and twice in all. No further meetings are scheduled for the present.

- High Level Working Group on consistency between tax and customs policies. The mandate of the Group requires the group to examine the consistency between customs and indirect taxation with regard to policy and legislation, with a view to identifying discrepancies that cause difficulties for economic operators and for administrations or an increased risk of fraud and to propose solutions. The composition depends on the issues to be discussed they are either high level or technical (although with high level authority) representatives of customs and indirect tax administrations of Member States together with high level representatives of the taxation and customs services of the Commission. The first meeting of this group was on 25 June 1999. The next meeting is scheduled for 16 June 2000.

- Working Party No 1, composed of representatives of the administrations concerned and chaired by a Commission official, is an advisory body which assists the Commission in preparing legislative measures in the VAT field. It is an informal working group so there was no formal establishment of the group as such. The date of the next meeting has not been decided yet.

- Working Group No 2, on indirect taxes other than VAT, meets irregularly. Its purpose is to assist the Commission in collecting information. The next meeting will be a joint meeting with the Directorate-general on Environment on fiscal instruments in reducing CO2 emissions of passenger cars. The Group consists of officials of the Member States' indirect tax administrations and some non governmental organisations. Its first meeting took place before 1992, there was a meeting on 10 April 2000 and its next meeting is scheduled for March 2001.

- The Working Group Structures of the Taxation Systems (former Chapter IX-group) was established in 1994/1995 to follow up with Member States on Chapter IX (reducing non-wage labour costs) of the Commission's white paper Growth, competitiveness and employment(6). The Group meets once or twice a year and its members come from finance ministries and sometimes from social affairs ministries. The date for a next meeting has not yet been confirmed. It will be a joint meeting with the Directorate general for Employment working group on indicators to monitor the employment strategy and it will be devoted to the discussion of labour tax indicators.

In response to the request of ministers to the Commission to undertake a study in the field of company taxation, the Commission has created two informal advisory panels of experts. The study requested has two elements and the panels are each dealing with one element.

One is an examination of differences in effective corporate taxation rates in the Community. The other is a consideration of remaining tax obstacles to cross-border economic activity in the internal market. The first panel is composed of academics and other experts in the evaluation of effective levels of company taxation. The second panel is composed of experts from the business community and social partners at a Community level (business associations, trade unions, accountancy associations etc.). The first panel met for the first time on 9 July 1999; the date for its next meeting is not yet scheduled. The second panel met for the first time on 13 July 1999 and its next meeting is planned for 19 May 2000.

In addition, the Commission organises from time to time meetings of the heads of customs and tax administrations and meetings of the deputy heads of indirect taxation departments, during which all major issues within their areas of responsibility are discussed, so as to ensure co-ordination between the two areas. A meeting may take place at the end of the year.

In addition to the committees and working parties operating under the auspices of the Commission, there are specialised working groups in the taxation field meeting within the Council. The Council will be able to provide the Honourable Member with information on these groups.

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977.

(2) OJ L 76, 23.3.1992.

(3) OJ L 24, 1.2.1992.

(4) OJ L 336, 27.12.1977.

(5) OJ L 126, 28.4.1998.

(6) COM(94) 219 final.