The European Commission has opened two public consultations: The consultation launched on 25 June 2010 seeks to identify and remedy cross-border inheritance tax issues; another consultation opened on 30 June 2010 aims at finding obstacles to the temporary cross-border provision of (tax advisory and other) services and the establishment of service providers.
Cross-border inheritance tax problems
From an increasing number of inheritance tax cases since 2003, the Commission has gained the impression that inheritance tax rules are hindering EU citizens from moving and operating freely across borders within the internal market. The purpose of the current consultation is the collection of evidence of both discriminatory taxation by one member state and double taxation situations. Participants are also invited to suggest solutions and comment on a possible binding mechanism of EU law.
The consultation which addresses all interested stakeholders was started on 25 June 2010 and is open until 22 September 2010. The consultation document is available in EN, DE and FR. More information can be found on the Commission´s website.
Obstacles to the establishment of service providers and temporary service provision
On 30 June 2010, the Commission launched a public consultation on the implementation of the Services Directive (2006/123/EC). The Directive had to be implemented by the EU member states until 28 December 2009. Since 2010, the Commission is in a “mutual evaluation” process involving the national governments to ensure that implementation is carried out consistently throughout the EU. In order to obtain views also from businesses, advisers and citizens, the Commission asks for their opinion on whether the member states have done their homework to remove or at least to report restrictions on permanent establishment and temporary activity of service providers from other EU countries. Among the aspects the Commission is particularly interested in are e.g. authorisation schemes, requirements relating to ownership, legal form, reserved activities, fixed tariffs and limitations to multidisciplinary activities. The Commission also provides an overview on what changes have been adopted on national level to comply with the Services Directive.
Contributions can be submitted until 13 September 2010. The consultation paper is available in EN,DE and FR. More information: press release (22 languages) and the Commission´s website.
