This paper focuses on the current Community legislation concerning the value added tax rates. The fundamental point of this attempt is that the definitive VAT system based on taxation at origin would require a higher degree of harmonization of VAT rates compared to the current system based on taxation at destination. The first part of the paper reviews both amendments to provisions on the tax rates and the policy adopted by Community authorities in order to establish more uniform VAT rates structure. The following parts present a legal framework for the application of standard and reduced VAT rates in Member States. Due to the fact that the European Commission has launched a broad consultation process on the functioning of the current VAT system, including the structure of reduced rates, particular attention is paid to the existing provisions on reduced, super reduced and parking rates.
In accordance with the provisions of Art. 93 and 94 of the Rome Treaty, the regulations of the EU Member States on indirect taxes are fully harmonized, as far as it is necessary for free trading of goods and services without frontier control limitations. The most important regulation for valid Community VAT taxation system is the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17th May 1977 'on the harmonization of the laws of Member States relating to turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment'. The agricultural production was included in the Community value added tax system. The simplified Community VAT taxation system of agricultural production is construed on two basic assumptions. Firstly – the reduction of excessive complications resulting from general principles of taxation; secondly - partial tax refund for lump-sum agricultural taxpayers of value added tax paid for the purchase of means necessary for agricultural production. The harmonization of Polish and Community regulations was finally effected in the VAT law of 11th March 2004. Delivery of agricultural products and agricultural services are considered as subject to value added tax, as stipulated in the Sixth Council Directive. The taxation rules are however varied. Farmers subject to special producers are named lump-sum taxpayers; other farmers are taxed according to general rules. The taxation method, on the day when the VAT regulations is agriculture came in force, was so constructed that almost all existing agricultural producers became 'ex lege' lump-sum taxpayers.The VAT law proved clear inconsistencies in the definition of such elementary terms as agricultural activity, agricultural household and lump-sum farmer. The object of taxation is also not defined in conformity with the requirements of levy law. As shown above, there is no fixed normative concept of treating agricultural producers as entrepreneurs, neither are their production and the production effects considered as business activity. Consequently, no fixed normative concept of VAT taxation has been developed.
Every transaction is burdened with income tax and turnover tax, which are complementary to each other. Thus, the total tax burden should be perceived as a sum of them. The complementary relation is for many tax-specialists the main reason of existence of the progressive scale in income taxes. The regressive nature of the tax rates in VAT is to minimise the negative impact of this progression. This paper, however, shows that calculations do not sustain these assumptions. The taxpayers do not spend all their income, and therefore the compensation of the regressive scale of the VAT rates works to a certain amount. Above this limit, the income tax progression substantially increases the effective rate of taxation. Drawing on the present calculations, it may be concluded that the progression of income taxes cannot be justified by the complementary character of VAT.
The article determines the transfer rate of tax burden to the buyers of agricultural products and food consumer in the most recent major change in reduced rates of value added tax in the Czech Republic in the late 2007 and 2008 and Slovakia since May 2004. At the same time it identifies the size of portion of increased tax burden which agricultural producers and sellers of food carry, after the increase in the reduced rate of value added tax in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Possible future changes in this field are considered on the basis of determining the values of the distribution of increased tax burden. It also includes determination of indicator of change in the selling prices of agricultural products and food in the increase in the reduced rate of value added tax in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Non-banking sector of financial services in Ukraine is not well developed, but has enormous potential. There are currently about 850 credit associations there. According to the 1st Article of Ukrainian Credit Associations Act, the term “Credit Association' means a non-profit organization founded by individuals on the cooperative basis, to meet the needs of its members in the mutual lending and providing financial services, through the consolidation of its members' cash contributions. The legislation provides a special procedure for registration and operating, accounting and taxes of these organizations. Taxes are one of the most problematic issues related to the activity of these financial institutions. Analysis of the Ukraine legislation concerning the taxation of non-bank financial services market enables to extract rules of law that require correction, supplement or harmonization with the rest of the legislation. Present taxation law was enacted in the past twelve years by various governments; Ukraine has not yet formed one Tax Code. The main objective of cooperation between Polish Credit Unions and Ukraine, pursued since 2004, is to help create a strong and sustainable system of credit cooperation in Ukraine, based on the experiences of Polish savings and loan associations. Ukraine needs strong and democratically managed credit associations, which will operate according to international standards in this sphere.
The author discusses milestones in Polish book trade industry after 1989 (years 1989 to 1995), recalling background facts and figures from the communist Poland (in particular second half of 1980s) and addressing current situation. The breakdown of Polish book market in 1992 is analyzed with focus - among else - on the collapse of Skladnica Ksiegarska (book wholesale company) and its impact on other book-selling companies as well as legal and ethical abuse accompanying the whole situation. The paper ends with the description of the conflict that arose during the organization of International Book Fair in Warsaw in 1993 and apprehension around the introduction of Polish daughter company of Bertelsmann concern to Polish book market.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.