WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3667/98 by Philippe MONFILS to the Commission. VAT on works of art
Date: 1998-12-07
Institutions: European Parliament, MONFILS
Subjects: VAT, intra-EU trade, restriction on competition, single market, tax harmonisation, work of art

C 207/106

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.7.1999

(1999/C 207/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3665/98

by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE) to the Commission

(7 December 1998)

Subject: Counterfeiting and piracy

On 22 October 1998 the Commission announced the publication of a Green Paper on combating counter-
feiting and piracy in the single market, with which it launched wide-ranging consultations on the matter with
interested parties in the Member States.

What kind of initiatives might the Commission consider implementing in accordance with existing legislation,
once the said consultations have been completed?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3664/98 and E-3665/98
given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 1999)

One of the aims of the Green Paper on combating counterfeiting and piracy in the single market (1) is to assess
the economic impact of this phenomenon on the internal market. The assessment will be based on the
information provided by interested parties (in particular, undertakings, owners of intellectual property rights
and professional organisations) in response to the questions asked in the Green Paper. The Honourable
Member will be aware that the Green Paper contains detailed questions on the economic and social effects of
counterfeiting and piracy in the internal market both for undertakings (loss of market share, loss of jobs, drop
in sales) and for economies (drop in investments, undeclared employment, loss of tax revenue). The answers
from the interested parties should give the Commission a clearer picture of the effects of counterfeiting and
piracy on the European economy.

With regard to the initiatives the Commission might consider at the end of this period of consultation, it is still
too early to give the Honourable Member any details, since the consultation has not yet been completed.
However, the Commission does not a priori exclude any form of intervention, nor favour one method of
combating counterfeiting and piracy over another. Since the measures considered in the Green Paper are very
diverse, any initiatives the Commission might take would not necessarily be of a legislative nature, but might,
for example, comprise financial support for action taken against counterfeiting and piracy, or organisational
or administrative measures, or even incentives or facilitation measures.

(1) COM(98) 569 final.

(1999/C 207/144)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3667/98

by Philippe Monfils (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 December 1998)

Subject: VAT on works of art

Some countries, including Belgium, have been applying the Seventh VAT Directive since 1 January 1995. To
raise the VAT rate, Germany, on the other hand, has been granted a deferment until 1999. The result is
distorted competition among art dealers in the various Member States, since VAT in Belgium, for example, is
21 %, but only 7 % in Germany. This difference represents an enormous competitive advantage in a market as
specialised and transnational as the art market.

Besides the competition aspect, there would also appear to be discrimination as regards the rate of VAT
liability among the various segments of the market in cultural goods and services. Bookshops and, more
recently, performing artists thus benefit from a reduced rate of 6 %. This reduction was introduced with the
aim of stimulating cultural life and giving it a chance of surviving.