9 Amendments of Juozas IMBRASAS related to 2011/2082(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s aim to achieve a comprehensive VAT system that is solid enough to resist attacks of fraud, of which the estimated annual cost for the EU27 is around 80 to 100 billion euro; notes that VAT is a key source of revenue for national budgets, accounting for approximately one-fifth of the Member States’ income, and that it is therefore essential to identify more effective means of collection;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines the need to improve cross- border prosecution of intra-Community VAT fraud in the Member States; emphasises that it is essential to simplify the VAT system, reduce the associated administrative burden and thereby protect against fraud, given that these problems stem from the large number of complex rules and the current method of collecting VAT;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of more intensive and rapid cooperation between Member States, more direct contacts between local tax offices, and better monitoring of exchanges of information, ensuring that Member States provide efficient assistance to each other; considers it essential to develop a new, modern VAT system geared to the current challenges and needs of the common market, so that this tax can duly fulfil its role in providing the Member States with long-term income at minimal cost to business;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to urge Member States to simplify and consolidate their VAT legislation, to make their legislative texts more easily available and to translate them in at least English, French and Germanto all the official languages of the EU; takes the view that simplifying the VAT system would substantially reduce the potential for fraud;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the need, given the impact of ageing societies on labour markets, savings and consumption patterns and public expenditure in the years to come, to shift from direct taxation further to indirect taxation, but considers that VAT rates should nonetheless not be raised.
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Urges the Commission to consider legislative proposals that would tackle VAT carousels at root level by introducing an EU wide mechanism of reverse charge of VAT, which, besides being an effective anti-fraud measure, would also mean an administrative simplification for producers and traders; therefore calls on the Commission to come forth with legislative proposals to establish a mechanism of reverse charge for the 6 most sensitive sectors, — audio and video equipment, food and beverage, computer hardware and microprocessors, and accessories, mobile telephones and accessories, textiles and automobiles; notes that the legislative proposal must be drafted in a transparent manner in consultation with national tax authorities and the economic and social partners, including the business sector.
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that, as a result of the complexity of rules and administrative constraints, businesses often see the current VAT system as an obstacle to the completion of the internal market; notes that the current VAT arrangements for intra-EU trade tend to reflect negatively on SMEs; observes that the public and private sectors should be subject to the same rates of VAT for the same action.
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Observes that the establishment of an overall VAT system should reduce the operating costs of users and the administrative costs of the authorities and that this should make it possible to prevent fraud, tax evasion, crime and the associated money laundering, which are a serious threat to society on an international scale.
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that according to the subsidiarity principle Member States should keep their possibility to decide on reduced levels of VAT in certain sectors in order to better implement European and national policies or on the basis of national historical, economic, social or environmental factors; points out that VAT exemptions applied in sectors of general interest and in other sectors help to improve national policy on growth and employment.