EU VAT reform could go much further

In December 2010, the Commission launched a debate on the future of VAT in the EU. The evidence-gathering process included a public consultation which elicited more than 1,700 responses from businesses, academics, citizens and tax authorities; and a study on the workings (and failings) of the existing VAT system commissioned from a consortium of economics research institutes led by us at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. In December 2011, the Commission published its outline proposals, aimed at making the EU VAT system simpler, more efficient and more robust. These proposals were broadly welcomed by the Council in May 2012, and further work is now ongoing with a view to bringing forward more detailed proposals. If implemented, how far would the Commission's reform agenda improve VAT across the EU?

This article is published in the International Tax Review, May 2013