Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

THE PROVISIONS OF EXPLICIT TAX RELEVANCE 635 4.1. The lack of uniformity At this point, a number of examples should be given, showing the considerable lack of “uniformity” between the VAT rates of the various Member States 23 . It is specified that some Member States do not provide for a minimum rate (e.g. Germany and the Netherlands). In Germany the standard rate is 19%, the reduced rate is 7%; in Italy it is 22% and 10% respectively; in Portugal it is 23% and 13%, in Hungary it is 27% and 18%. This simple fact shows that there can be a considerable difference between the various Member States. For the common VAT system, two aspects are particularly relevant in the tourism sector. This was the outcome of the High-level Conference on Tourism, organised by the European Parliament in September 2017, in Brussels 24 . The first aspect concerns the application of reduced VAT rates. The second concerns the special VAT scheme for travel agents and tour operators. All transactions carried out by the agent in relation to the trip should be considered as a single offer for VAT purposes, taxable in the agent’s Member State, and this is relevant and concrete for the purposes of our Directive, which sets out the tourist package in a unified manner. The importance of this issue is also made clear by the fact that on 7 April 2016 the European Commission adopted the Action Plan on VAT, which sets out the objectives and measures to make the VAT system simpler 25 . The 2006 VAT Directive lays down general rules in order to ensure the neutrality, simplicity and practicability of the tax system. The legislator has allowed the adoption of two reduced rates, not less than 5%, limited to certain goods and services listed in the VAT Directive, including tourism services and many others. In general, the highest of the reduced rates applies to tourism services in the various Member States. There is therefore a need for harmonization/coordination in the field of tourism taxation. The question arises at this point as to what is meant by 23 Among the sources see VAT rules and rates, in http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-rules- -rates/index_en.htm. 24 High-level conference on tourism “A European strategy to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism industry, a key driver for job creation”, in http://www.necstour.eu/news/wtd2017-historical-intervention- -hemicycleeuropean-parliament. 25 The VAT Action Plan (pp. 13 ss.) COM(2016) 148 final, in https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/en/ TXT/?uri=COM%3A2016%3A148%3AFIN /Annex III, Lists of supplies of goods and services to which the reduces rates referred to in article 98 may be applied, n. 12).