WRITTEN QUESTION E-2384/01 by Emilia Müller (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Information on the taxation of owners of houses and plots of land.
Date: 2001-08-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: VAT, application of EU law, direct tax, indirect tax, land and buildings, real property, tax system

6.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/27

The Commission has always defended European industry’s need for access to raw materials. Thus it has
requested suspension of export taxes and even elimination of unfair trading practices which de facto make
it impossible to import this type of product. The detailed negotiations on the products themselves will
begin at the negotiating round due to be held in Brussels at the end of October.

(2002/C 134 E/027)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2357/01

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Protection measures with regard to time-sharing

(6 August 2001)

Directive 94/47/EC (1) of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 1994 on the protection
of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use
immovable properties on a time-share basis deals with aspects relating to time-share contracts. Article 3
lays down that the Member States must make provision in their legislation for the necessary measures to
ensure that the vendor provides purchasers with information on the immovable property and that this
information forms an integral part of the contract. In practice, time-share contracts are misleading for
consumers who, once they have acquired their right, do not know what they can do to protect themselves.

Does the Commission know whether there are any Member States which have not yet made provision for
these protection measures in their legislation? What can citizens of the Member States concerned do in the
face of this legal vacuum? What measures exist to protect consumers in such cases?

What action will the Commission take to ensure that these measures are adopted and complied with in all
the Member States?

(1) OJ L 280, 29.10.1994, p. 83.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 2001)

All Member States have communicated the measures that they have taken in order to implement the
Directive 94/47/EC of the Parliament and the Council of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers
in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties
on a timeshare basis. However, the Commission considers, as far as Article 3 of the Directive is concerned,
that the measures adopted by Italy do not transpose this article properly, given that no provisions have
been adopted for the consequences of non-compliance with this article. Therefore, the Commission has
initiated an infringement procedure under Article 226 (ex Article 169) of the EC Treaty. The Commission is
currently examining the situation in Greece and the United Kingdom.

(2002/C 134 E/028)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2384/01

by Emilia Müller (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 August 2001)

Subject: Information on the taxation of owners of houses and plots of land

The ownership of real property, including houses, gardens and plots of land, and related issues such as the
taxation of the owners are, in principle, the preserve of the national regulatory authorities.

C 134 E/28

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

Will the Commission, therefore, say:

? what the tax situation is in regard to the owners of houses and plots of land in the individual Member

States,

? what European rules there are concerning the taxation of owners of houses and plots of land,

? whether it monitors and verifies the individual Member States’ tax arrangements, and

? where I can obtain more detailed information on the tax situation in the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(12 October 2001)

When talking about taxation of land and real estate, we need to distinguish between direct taxes and
indirect taxes.

Taking direct taxation of land and real estate first, there is no Community legislation in this field. National
legislation in this regard nevertheless needs to be compatible with the principles of Community legislation
on non-discrimination between, and free movement of, individuals and capital. Since this is not an area in
which there is harmonisation, the Commission is not in a position to look at information provided directly
by the Member States regarding their current legislation to monitor the situation routinely.

Moving on to indirect taxation, the common value-added tax (VAT) rules, based on the Sixth Directive
(Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (1)) give the Member States substantial discretion in defining the taxation
arrangements for real-estate transactions.

The transitional options and provisions in this field for which the Sixth Directive provided have resulted in
rules which vary widely between the Member States. In 1997, the Commission published an in-depth
study on the application of VAT to the real-estate sector (2).

Two summary tables setting out the situation with regard to direct and indirect taxes on owner-occupied
property, on new housing and buildings and on land are being forwarded direct to the Honourable
Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat. The tables illustrate the differences in national legislation.

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977.
(2) European Commission, Directorate General Taxation and Customs UnionStudy on the application of Value Added

Tax to the property sector ? Arthur Andersen, 1997.

(2002/C 134 E/029)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2395/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 August 2001)

Subject: Inadequate monitoring of scrap metal for radioactive materials during transport, storage and

processing

1.
Is the Commission aware that cargoes of scrap metal, i.e. iron and steel waste for reuse, on board
ships still sometimes include constituents containing the radioactive elements caesium and strontium,
without advance notification?

2. Who is responsible for their inclusion, and how do they get away with it? Why has it so far proved
impossible to organise watertight monitoring, so as to ensure in sufficiently good time that no radioactive
material finds its way into scrap metal?