Single EU Corporate Tax Base Still On The Cards

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

26 October 2005

According to a Financial Times report published on Monday, EU Tax Commissioner, Lazlo Kovacs intends to press ahead with the presentation of legislation to create a single European corporate tax base, despite strong opposition from five member states.

Mr Kovacs has reportedly revealed that he plans to put forward his proposals next year, with the intention of legislating on the matter before his mandate ends in 2009.

Although the UK, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovakia are opposed to any move towards corporate tax harmonisation, Mr Kovacs stated that he is prepared to leave them outside the scheme, and move forward under the auspices of an 'enhanced cooperation' initiative.

"We don't think we should waste time trying to convince the other five," he explained.

The Tax Commissioner went on to add, according to the FT, that:

"We consider that if companies were allowed to apply a singe EU-wide set of rules for company tax purposes, this would eliminate most of the problems such as double taxation they currently face when they do business across borders. It would also lead to a substantial reduction in compliance costs."

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