The times we are living in require full committment from businesses throughout the European Union in order to keep up with the fierce competition that they face especially from the emerging markets of Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. It is therefore natural that we seek measures that will ease the bureaucratic burden that businesses, most notably SMEs, face in their daily running. I have been recently appointed rapporteur on a report that is aimed to introduce a common system of Value Added Tax on invoicing. The proposed report will not only simplify the invoicing procedure but will also harmonize the rules throughout the European Union. This proposal will also be an important tool for Member States in the fight against fraud and economic crimes.

As the situation stands now, there are too many administrative burdens that are hampering growth and put a limit on the innovation that a businessman may want to undertake for his business. This is obviously due to unecessary expenses and red tape. I believe that we should make the most of the new technologies availiable in order to become more efficient and reduce costs.

This change should complement the fight against tax fraud with more secure and foolproof systems.

This report will eliminate many barriers simply by removing the differences between invoices sent electronically and those sent on paper, thereby putting both methods on the same platform.

This proposal is also in line with the Lisbon Agenda which focuses on growth and jobs. Thus the introduction of e-invoicing and the removal of legal obstacles for their transmission will reduce costs considerably and increase efficiency, thus playing an important role in reaching the goals of the mentioned Lisbon Agenda. All this will complement the introduction back in 2008 of the single European Payment Area aimed at harmonising the payment process throughout Europe.

As I already said, this new system will also help in tackling fraud and while an invoice can be the instrument to commit the actual fraud it is also the main document that authorities use to check whether tax has been paid or not, thus in updating the present legislation there will be more possibilities for the tax authorities to control taxable persons.

In drafting this report the Economic and Monetary affairs committee is at present identifying the different methods and rules in the 27 member states of the European Union and trying to harmonise them into one common system. Secondly it is undertaking a study of the problems that businesses face in meeting the various obligations and to establish a control measure for the national administrations. It is recognised that Member States need flexibility to be able to control the tax. At the same time, the aim of reducing burdens on business and simplifying the invoicing rules is important. In balancing these needs, the aim is to keep the option to require taxable persons to issue an invoice for B2C supplies but require only a simplified invoice giving a limited amount of information. In addition, established and non-established taxable persons must be treated equally.

It is our aim to simplify administrative procedures as much as possible in view of the financial crisis that has hit the economic world. We must make the most of our resources in order to increase productivity.

As with all reports that deal with finance, there are many details and aspects that must be taken into consideration in order to attain an end result that is satisfactory for all concerned parties. I am sure that as with the previous reports I dealt with, most notably the European Fisheries Fund and the Introduction of the Euro Currency in Slovakia, we will strike the right balance.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

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