Registration tax - case of Romania

I. FISCAL POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Winston Churchill was the first man that purpose the idea for a sort of “United States of Europe” in a speech for University of Zurich in 24th September 1946, after three month at 17th December was found in Paris the Europe Federal Union.

The European Union was set up with the purpose of ending the bloody wars between neighbors, so in 1950 the European Coal and Steel Community begin to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace. The six founders were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The 1950s are dominated by a cold war between east and west. Protests in Hungary against the Communist regime are put down by Soviet tanks in 1956 while the following year, 1957, the Soviet Union takes the lead in the space race, when it launches the first man-made space satellite, Sputnik 1. Also in 1957, the Treaty of Rome creates the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’.

The 1960s sees the emergence of 'youth culture’, with groups such as The Beatles attracting huge crowds of teenage fans wherever they appear, helping to stimulate a cultural revolution and widening the generation gap. It is a good period for the economy, helped by the fact that EU countries stop charging custom duties when they trade with each other. They also agree joint control over food production, so that everybody now has enough to eat - and soon there is even surplus agricultural produce. May 1968 becomes famous for student riots in Paris, and many changes in society and behavior become associated with the so-called ‘68 generation’.

Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Union on 1 January 1973, raising the number of member states to nine. The short, yet brutal, Arab-Israeli war of October 1973 result in an energy crisis and economic problems in Europe. The last right-wing dictatorships in Europe come to an end with the overthrow of the Salazar regime in Portugal in 1974 and the death of General Franco of Spain in 1975. The EU regional policy starts to transfer huge sums to create jobs and infrastructure in poorer areas. The European Parliament increases its influence in EU affairs and in 1979 all citizens can, for the first time, elect their members directly.

The Polish trade union, Solidarność, and its leader Lech Walesa, become household names across Europe and the world following the Gdansk shipyard strikes in the summer of 1980. In 1981, Greece becomes the 10th member of the EU and Spain and Portugal follow five years later. In 1987 the Single European Act is signed. This is a treaty which provides the basis for a vast six-year programmer aimed at sorting out the problems with the free-flow of trade across EU borders and thus creates the ‘Single Market’. There is major political upheaval when, on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall is pulled down and the border between East and West Germany is opened for the first time in 28 years, this leads to the reunification of Germany when both East and West Germany are united in October 1990.

With the collapse of communism across central and Eastern Europe, Europeans become closer neighbors. In 1993 the Single Market is completed with the 'four freedoms' of: movement of goods, services, people and money. The 1990s is also the decade of two treaties, the ‘Maastricht’ Treaty on European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999. People are concerned about how to protect the environment and also how Europeans can act together when it comes to security and defence matters. In 1995 the EU gains three more new members, Austria, Finland and Sweden. A small village in Luxembourg gives its name to the ‘Schengen’ agreements that gradually allow people to travel without having their passports checked at the borders. Millions of young people study in other countries with EU support. Communication is made easier as more and more people start using mobile phones and the internet.

The euro is the new currency for many Europeans. 11 September 2001 becomes synonymous with the 'War on Terror' after hijacked airliners are flown into buildings in New York and Washington. EU countries begin to work much more closely together to fight crime. The political divisions between east and west Europe are finally declared healed when no fewer than 10 new countries join the EU in 2004. Many people think that it is time for Europe to have a constitution but what sort of constitution is by no means easy to agree, so the debate on the future of Europe rages on.

European Union Tax Policy Strategy

The European Commission's tax policy strategy was most recently set out in a Communication of 23 May 2001 on "Tax policy in the European Union - Priorities for the years ahead".

The Commission in this Communication reiterated its belief that there is no need for an across the board harmonisation of Member States' tax systems. Provided that they respect Community rules, Member States are free to choose the tax systems that they consider most appropriate and according to their preferences. In addition, any proposal for Community action in the tax field would take full account of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. There should only be action at EU level where action by individual Member States could not provide an effective solution. Many tax problems might, in fact, simply require better co-ordination of national policies.

Within this framework, this Communication established as a main priority for tax policy that of addressing the concerns of individuals and businesses operating within the Internal Market by focusing on the elimination of tax obstacles to all forms of cross-border economic activity, in addition to continuing the fight against harmful tax competition.

This focus on the taxpayer was linked to the Commission's general objective of ensuring that tax policy supports wider EU policy goals, such as that established at the Lisbon European Council of March 2000 of making the Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010 and EU objectives in the environmental and energy areas. Increased tax policy co-ordination would help Member States to meet these objectives.

The Commission has since presented options for co-ordinated action to tackle tax obstacles and inefficiencies in the company tax, VAT, excise duties, and car tax areas. The Commission has also, as the Communication announced, become more pro-active in taking legal action where Member States' national tax rules or practices do not comply with the Treaty.

Another area for action is Research and Development (R&D), given its impact on growth and jobs. In its Communication of 22 November 2006 the Commission examines a more effective use of tax incentives for R&D. The communication clarifies the legal conditions arising from EU case law and sets out some basic principles and good practices for the design of tax incentives. Member States are encouraged to improve the use and coordination of tax incentives on specific R&D issues. The Communication also offers Member States guidance on the main design options.

The Commission considers that retaining unanimity for all taxation decisions will make it difficult to achieve any of the tax co-ordination necessary for Europe and has made proposals for a move to qualified majority voting in certain tax areas.

In addition, the Commission has started to make more use of non-binding approaches such as recommendations instead of legislative proposals where appropriate, as a way of making progress in the tax field. The route of closer co-operation between sub-groups of like-minded Member States is also being explored.

The Commission has published regular analyses of the structures of tax systems in EU Member States with a view to providing information to Member States and the public on taxation trends in recent years.