On the 23th of October 2013, the European Commission published a proposal to introduce a common system of value added tax as regards a standard VAT return to come into force as per 1 January 2017. Negotiation have resulted in a draft compromised text that has fully denatured the substance of the Commission proposal. In particular, the latest developments in regards of coming to an agreement to fulfil the Commission’s objective the objective of the simplification, harmonisation and substantial burden reduction by introducing a so called European VAT return Commission proposal did not succeed. In this respect, the Commission have announced (COM(2015) 610 final ANNEX 4) to withdraw the proposal of the introduction a common (EU) system of value added tax as regards a standard VAT return.
A missed chance if you ask me!

 

Bildquelle: Uwe Wagschal / pixelio.de