FRANCE AND BRITAIN SUGGEST TAX CUT ON GREEN PRODUCTS
10.31.07 - Leído 79 veces. Enviar esta notaJochen Luypaert
Following a joint initiative of France and the UK, EU finance ministers will discuss cutting value-added taxes on energy efficient products in an effort to stimulate consumers to shop in a more environmental-friendly way
BRUSSELS, Belgium; October 31, 2007.- The European Commission said discussions on the issue will start during the next finance ministers meeting on 13 November, after London and Paris sent a joint letter to the EU executive outlining the idea last week.
On Thursday (25 October), French president Nicholas Sarkozy said that France wants to undergo a green revolution.
One of his proposals included making environmentally-friendly goods less expensive, arguing that “where a clean product exists it should be cheaper than a polluting product.”
“I call for the creation of reduced VAT rate for all ecological products which respect biodiversity,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
For its part, the Commission said it is open to all ideas, as long as they do not distort the internal market. It also stressed that France and Britain would need to gain the support of all 25 other member states.
“We have to be clear on which products, we have to be clear about the purpose of this measure to have the effect we are looking for, to not distort the internal market, and for all this to happen, we need unanimity in the Council [of finance ministers],” a spokesperson said on Friday.
Reducing value added taxes is a politically delicate subject in the EU, as member states generally have different positions on the required level of taxes for different types of products.
Under current EU rules, member states can decide on the level of these taxes, but they should not go below 15% for goods and services, although exceptions for certain products – such as children’s clothing - have been granted in the past.
(EUobserver)
Enlaces Relacionados
