László Kovács, the lifelong Communist apparatchik and new commissar for tax
in he Barroso Commission, has said during the hearings before the European
Parliament that he does not intend to pursue an agenda of tax harmonisation.
“For the time being I see no activity for the Community in the area of
corporate taxation,” said Kovács. “This should be left to the individual
member states.” Some countries, notably Germany, have started to make
noises about tax harmonisation because they are frustrated at low corporate
taxes being offered by new EU member states which at the same time receive
EU subsidy. On the other hand, the new commissar for Justice and Home
Affairs, the former Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, has said that
he does want to see greater harmonisation of the laws of member states. “We
need a true legal space in civil law,” he said, “a space in which trials are
fair for all.” But he also said that what Europe needed was better laws,
not more laws. [Handelsblatt, 16th November 2004]

Discussion/Fórum