European finance ministers discussed the initiative on VAT in the digital age (ViDA) at the Ecofin Council on 16 June. The Swedish Presidency had published a progress note on the file ahead of the discussion.
As reported by Agence Europe, there is consensus on the text in principle. Still, specific details, such as the implementation date and the deemed supplier mechanism, are open to debate.
Poland has indicated it would like to see further discussions on the scope of the agreement, particularly on the data, to be communicated. Slovakia has asked that “the scope of these measures be precisely defined and that the risk of tax fraud be examined”.
Regarding the implementation date, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Luxembourg and Hungary felt the planned date was too soon.
The so-called ‘deemed supplier’ mechanism caused problems for several ministers, mainly from Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Ireland and Greece. While the latter two countries expressed reservations pending an in-depth examination, the others were more hostile.
The negative effect of introducing VAT on short-term rental accommodation on certain tourist activities also raised questions. Some Member States, such as Denmark, “asked to be able to decide which accommodation should be defined as similar to hotels and therefore subject to VAT”.
Moreover, not everyone agrees to the arrangements for electronic invoicing. All the countries have come out in favour of a single, coherent framework for intra-European transactions, but a majority refuses to harmonise national invoicing and is calling for flexibility.
Work on the file will continue under the Spanish Presidency, beginning in July.
Source Accountancy Europe
