Back peddling: Belgium puts brakes on e-VAT discussions.

Back peddling: Belgium puts brakes on e-VAT discussions.

A bilateral meeting between the Belgian presidency of the European Union and British officials is under consideration as a way of solving the growing crisis over VAT on electronic goods, Gavin Hinks reports.

Currently, suppliers of downloadable electronic goods from outside the EU pay no VAT on their sales, while domestic traders must comply with tax law. But the UK blocked a Swedish solution to the problem in June by proposing a moratorium on all VAT charged on electronic goods and the problem was shelved for the new Belgian presidency to tackle.

However, it has become clear the Belgians have set aside no time for the issue during their six months in office. A source said a bilateral meeting was now the only way forward.

Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt (above right), who last week received a bicycle from Swedish representative Gunar Lund (right) to mark the handover of the presidency, has other issues to tackle including proposals for a new tax to pay for the EU.

The VAT issue was not expected to be on the agenda for finance ministers when they met on Tuesday.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at ACCA, said: ‘While this discussion is going on businesses within the EU are losing out.’

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource