Survey Suggests EU Businesses Want Tax Harmonisation

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

27 January 2003

A survey commissioned by US delivery firm UPS, and released on Friday has revealed that greater tax harmonisation is top of the wish-list of many EU-based companies.

Reporting on the results of the study last week, the Financial Times revealed that, despite strong opposition from many national governments within the European Union, more than one in three of the company directors polled by UPS from the seven largest EU member states believed that some degree of tax harmonisation would significantly improve the single market.

According to the FT, many of the 1,450 top executives polled by the delivery firm regarded the issue as more important than standardisation of company law on a Union-wide level, pension reforms, or further liberalisation of the electricity, post, and rail markets.

However, speaking to the Financial Times, John Cridland, deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) expressed scepticism as to how representative the UPS figures actually were:

'It's interesting that this survey shows support for harmonisation is highest in high tax countries. It's weakest in the UK where taxes are lower. We must resist moves that would erode our competitive advantage,' he urged.

Recommended