WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1105/98 by Panayotis LAMBRIAS to the Commission. Electronic commerce and Member States' tax systems
Date: 1998-04-08
Institutions: European Parliament, LAMBRIAS
Subjects: VAT, electronic money, harmonisation of standards, indirect tax, information technology applications, international standard, international trade, tax system













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91998E1105

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1105/98 by Panayotis LAMBRIAS to the Commission. Electronic commerce and Member States' tax systems  


Official Journal C 386 , 11/12/1998 P. 0083 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1105/98by Panayotis Lambrias (PPE) to the Commission(8 April 1998)Subject: Electronic commerce and Member States' tax systemsGiven the increasingly important role played by electronic commerce in the Union's economy and the rapidity with which it is developing, will the Commission say what immediate measures it will take to provide for effective and harmonized regulation of the Member States's tax systems and to avoid operational problems in the future in keeping with the views set out in the communication concerning "A European Initiative in Electronic Commerce".Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission(12 June 1998)The Commission has drawn the attention of the international community to the global dimension of a range of issues related to electronic commerce, including taxation, and to the need to strengthen international co-ordination, notably in the communication on "Globalisation and the information society"(1).The Commission has been working since March 1997 to examine the interaction between the new phenomenon of electronic commerce and indirect taxation, a task for which the directors general of Member States' administrations have pledged their support.In the statement by the Community and the United States on electronic commerce of December 1997 the parties commit themselves to work towards not imposing any new sort of duties on the import of services provided across border by electronic means. This has also been reflected in the communication on electronic commerce(2) presented by the Community and its Member States to the World trade organisation (WTO) on 23 April 1998. However, there is general agreement that the basic principles of VAT should apply to electronic commerce, to tax consumption within the Community, using procedures that should be as clear and simple as possible to avoid hindering the growth of this new trading medium. The Commission is therefore reviewing customs and VAT legislation and procedures in the light of electronic commerce development and closely following and studying the evolution of network protocols and business practices so that suitable tax solutions can be developed in detail and implemented as the need arises.The Commission is actively participating in work in other international fora, in particular within the Organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD) to ensure provision of the necessary international framework for taxation. Indeed work is on-going to prepare "framework conditions" for taxation which could be presented to the OECD ministerial conference in Ottawa.(1) COM(98) 50 final.(2) COM(97) 157 final.