Activities of Petr JEŽEK related to 2016/2033(INI)
Plenary speeches (3)
Towards a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud (A8-0307/2016 - Werner Langen) CS
Towards a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud (debate) CS
Towards a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on towards a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud PDF (426 KB) DOC (85 KB)
Amendments (24)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regards to the Report on the future of VAT (2011/2082(INI)),
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
– having regard to the proposal for a directive on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (COM(2012)0363),
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Single Market, established on 1 January 1993, has abolished border controls for intra- community trade and whereas, under Articles 402-404 of the current VAT Directive, the European Union VAT arrangements in place since 1993 are of a provisional and transitional nature only;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Considers it essential that Member States acknowledge the importance of a speedy and frequent exchange of information between them in order to effectively close the so-called VAT gap; considers that setting up national risk analysis tools could improve the efficiency of these exchanges of information;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas, according to a COM study 1a , MTIC fraud (Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud, commonly called carousel fraud) alone is responsible for a VAT revenue loss of approximately €45 billion to €53 billion annually; __________________ 1a http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/reso urces/documents/common/publications/st udies/ey_study_destination_principle.pdf
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Underlines the important role of the European Commission in collaboration with the Member States according to Article 325 TFEU;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas according to Europol estimates, between EUR 40 billion and EUR 60 billion of the annual VAT revenue losses of Member States are caused by organised crime groups, and 2 % of those groups are behind 80 % of missing trader intra-Community fraud;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas several Member States under the coordination of Eurojust and Europol have recently conducted three successful and consecutive Vertigo Operations which uncovered in total a 320 million EUR carousel fraud scheme;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the high administrative costs incurred under the present VAT system, especially with regard to cross- border transactions, could be significantly reduced for small and medium-sized enterprises in particular through the necessary reformsimplification measures;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas, although unanimity in the European Council is required for the definitive VAT system to be established, 23 years after the introduction of the VAT Directive, the so called ‘standstill derogations’ are outdated, in particular with regards to the modern digital economy;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that it is essential for the Member States to adopt a coordinated tax policy and improve the speed and frequency of their exchange information concerning intra community trade in order to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance more effectively and finally close the existing ‘VAT gap’;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Takes the view that cooperation between the Member State tax authorities has been inadequate in the past and the activities of Eurofisc have to date failed achieve any satisfactory results; is of the view that the information exchanged through Eurofisc should be better targeted to fraud;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that the data provided to Eurofisc by national authorities is not filtered in a way which transfers solely suspect cases and thus hinders the optimal functioning of the group; supports the initiative of several Member States that argue for the setting up of national risk analysis tools which would permit filtering of data and allow Eurofisc to quickly react against cross-border VAT fraud;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that MS largely depend on information received from other MS concerning intra EU trade in order to be able to collect VAT in their territory; Calls on the authorities responsible to exchange VAT and excise information in particular and to use all available technical meansreliable and user-friendly IT means, such as electronic standard forms, to record cross-border deliveries of goods and services to end- users;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Believes that the lack of comparable data and of adequate relevant indicators to measure Member States' performance affects the effectiveness of the EU system to tackle intra EU VAT fraud and thus calls on tax authorities to establish, in coordination with the COM, a common system to estimate the size of intra EU fraud and then set targets to reduce it, as this would enable the evaluation of MS's performances in tackling this issue;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Notes that an application of the reverse charge mechanism only in selected business sectors has not proved to be a viable solution, as studies on the increasing VAT gap demonstrate, and agrees that in order to avoid fraudsters moving from one business sector or one MS to another, the introduction of the general reverse charge seems more appropriate; 1b __________________ 1b http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/reso urces/documents/common/publications/st udies/vat_gap2013.pdf
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to quickly conduct pilot projects to test out a general reverse charge procedure in terms of cost,benefits, compliance cost, potential implementation problems and long-term advantages, as some Member States have offered to carry out or have called for;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Takes the view that the Commission should closely monitor the performance of national tax authorities;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Welcomes the Commission announcement to expand the mini-one- stop-shop into a fully-fledged one-stop- shop; notes the paramount importance for it to be user-friendly and equally efficient in all 28 Member States; notes that creating a one-stop-shop would alleviate administrative burdens preventing companies from operating across borders and reduce costs for SMEs1c; __________________ 1c COM(2016) 0148 final
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Notes the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in C-97/09[ASE1] ; takes note of the 28 different thresholds for exemption from VAT tax; takes note of the ensuing financial difficulties faced by SMEs and micro-businesses which would be exempted under their national systems; calls on the Commission to conduct further studies on establishing a threshold for the exemption to pay VAT for micro-businesses;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Welcomes the Commission's announcement that it will submit an SME package for VAT in 2017; recommends however that the implementation of the new framework should be gradual as it will trigger additional administrative costs (IT infrastructure, VAT processes);
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Notes the complex filing system that imposes a high burden on SMEs and thus discourages cross-border trade; calls on the Commission to include in its SME package the proposal of a unified VAT filing, harmonised reporting requirements and deadlines;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls in the short term for a comprehensive internet portal for companies and end-users to find, clearly and easily, information on the VAT rates applicable to individual products and services in the Member States; further calls on the Commission to provide guidelines to national tax authorities on the classification of transactions with respect to the applied VAT rate in order to reduce compliance costs and legal disputes;