The European Commission has today unveiled a series of measures to improve the Value Added Tax (VAT) environment for e-commerce businesses in the EU. Our proposals will allow consumers and companies, in particular start-ups and SMEs, to buy and sell goods and services more easily online.
By introducing an EU wide portal for online VAT payments (the 'One Stop Shop'), VAT compliance expenses will be significantly reduced, saving businesses across the EU €2.3 billion a year. The new rules will also ensure that VAT is paid in the Member State of the final consumer, leading to a fairer distribution of tax revenues amongst EU countries. Finally, the Commission is delivering on its pledge to enable Member States to apply the same VAT rate to e-publications such as e-books and online newspapers as for their printed equivalents, removing provisions that excluded e-publications from the favourable tax treatment allowed for traditional printed publications.
Key actions:
- New VAT rules for sales of goods and services online (f.e.: VAT on cross-border sales under €10 000 to be handled domestically)
- Simplifying VAT rules for micro-businesses and startups
- Action against VAT fraud from outside the EU
- Equal rules for taxing e-books, e-newspapers and their printed equivalents
Proposal for a Council Directive COM(2016) 757 final
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Modernising VAT for cross-border B2C e-comm COM(2016) 756 final
Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax COM(2016) 755
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