Established in 1990, the European Builders Confederation (EBC) is a European professional organisation representing national associations of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises working in the construction sector.
Recently, it published a response to the European Commission proposals 2018/0005 (CNS) regarding rates of value added tax. The two main recommendations are that the EC should:
- Ensure that a large diversity of VAT rates does not lead to higher administrative burdens and compliance costs for SMEs by translating the existing “Taxes in Europe” or a potentially new database in 24 languages and add an automatic service that, upon request, informs on changes of rates in other countries; and
- Clarify that a single VAT rate – reduced or normal – should apply independently if the buyer is a private person or a company.