EU MINISTERS REACH AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE ON VAT FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE.

EU Economics and Finance Ministers agreed at their December 13 Council meeting in Brussels on the broad principles of the proposed Directive on VAT on electronic commerce. "European firms will not have to add VAT when they are exporting to third countries", explained Frits Bolkestein, European Commissioner responsible for Taxation, adding that "this will remove any distortion of competition" that puts European companies at a disadvantage against their American counterparts. According to the...