WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1281/97 by Daniela RASCHHOFER to the Commission. Compliance of certain Austrian taxes and charges with Community legislation
Date: 1997-04-11
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Austria, Court of Justice of the European Union, EU law - national law, VAT, application of EU law, interpretation of the law, tax, tax harmonisation, tax system













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91997E1281

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1281/97 by Daniela RASCHHOFER to the Commission. Compliance of certain Austrian taxes and charges with Community legislation  


Official Journal C 391 , 23/12/1997 P. 0062 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1281/97 by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission (11 April 1997)Subject: Compliance of certain Austrian taxes and charges with Community legislationArticle 33 of the 'Sixth Council Directive of 17 May 1977 (77/388/EEC) ((OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. )) on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment' states that Member States shall not be prevented from maintaining or introducing other taxes, duties or charges which cannot be characterized as turnover taxes. Expressed in positive terms, this presumably means that no taxes, duties and charges similar to turnover taxes may be levied in addition to turnover taxes.However, in Austria the basic contribution for compulsory members of the Chamber of Commerce, beverage taxes and, in the federal province of Vorarlberg, tourist duties are calculated and levied on the basis of the turnover tax assessment basis or payed over in accordance with self-assessment pursuant to the relevant decisions by the tax authority.The above duties are levied, in addition to turnover taxes, on the same assessment basis on revenue generated by goods or services. They are also proportional to the price of these goods or services and are levied at every stage of production and marketing.Will the Commission say to what extent the Austrian basic contribution for compulsory members of the Chamber of Commerce (KU1), the beverage taxes and tourist duties are compatible with Community law?Would these duties also violate Community law if they were only levied on services and revenue which did not involve transfrontier transactions?Joint answer to Written Questions E-1262/97 and E-1281/97 given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (3 June 1997)The Commission is not yet in possession of the information it needs in order to decide definitively whether the taxes and levies in question are compatible with Community law.However, the Austrian legislation regarding the compulsory levy on membership of the chamber of commerce (KU1), to which the Honourable Member refers, is currently the subject of a reference for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice (Case C-318/96) on the interpretation of Article 33 of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 concerning value added tax ((OJ L 145, 13.6.1977. )). Consequently, it is now for the Court of Justice to provide the Austrian courts with the criteria for interpreting Article 33 that will enable them to decide on the compatibility of the membership levy with Community law.As for the other two taxes referred to, the Commission is continuing its assessment.