Cuardaigh

To ensure proper functioning of the internal market, Directive 2008/118/EC and related pieces of EU law seek harmonisation of the general conditions for charging excise duty on alcohol, tobacco and energy products. Disparities in the application of these rules can result in tax-induced movements of goods, loss of revenue and fraud. The REFIT initiative on general arrangements for excise duty, announced in the Commission's work programme for 2018, intends to further harmonise and simplify provisions ...

Council Directive 92/83/EEC harmonises the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, as agreed in 1992 by the Member States. The directive establishes common definitions of alcoholic products that are subject to duty, as well as exemptions and common reduced rates, particularly for small producers of alcoholic beverages and home-brewers. The European Commission began evaluating whether the rules are still up to date and ensure a level playing-field among producers, as well as ...

Indirect taxes include value added tax (VAT) and excise duties on alcohol, tobacco and energy. The common VAT system is generally applicable to goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in the EU. Excise duties are levied on the sale or use of specific products. EU legislative activities are aimed at coordinating and harmonising VAT law and harmonising duties on alcohol, tobacco and energy with the aim of ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market.

This briefing note is intended to provide the European Parliament with an analysis on tax allowances, as provided by the Directive 2003/96/EC, on fuels used by the EU fishing fleet. An estimate of the effects of this directive in terms of forgone revenue by governments of the EU MS is provided. Additionally, the benefits gained by fishers from tax reductions/exemptions are analysed across fleet segments.

This Study updates three earlier papers in the Economic Affairs Series:  Tax Competition in the European Union (ECON 105, October 1998);  Tax Co-ordination in the European Union (ECON 125, January 2001); and  Tax Co-ordination in the EU: the latest position (ECON 128, March 2002). The text does not repeat material already covered in the previous publications, but analyses recent developments in a number of taxation fields: corporate taxation, the taxation of energy, the continuing negotiations ...

This study is essentially an updated version of two earlier texts in this series: Tax Competition in the European Union (ECON 105 of October 1998) and Tax Co-ordination in the European Union (ECON 125 of January 2001). It covers much of the same ground as these studies, but takes into account recent developments both within European Union itself, and at the international level.

The third report from the Commission, COM(2001)133, suggests amendments to existing Community legislation on the taxation of manufactured tobacco. This paper gives a brief overview on the subject under consideration, by providing a non-technical survey of how excise duties on tobacco are currently levied within the European Union and by discussing the potential effects of the amendments recently proposed.