The EU's attempt to introduce a uniform sales tax form for businesses has come unstuck.
The use of a standardised new report form was intended to help businesses by eliminating the different ways they accounted for VAT/IVA returns and to make taxation easier for companies trading outside their own country.
But nations could not agree on what should be on the standardised form. The initial suggested form contained 28 boxes, but this soon rose to 60 after member states failed to agree on the scope of information.
Currently, wide variations exist in what each country requires. VAT returns in Ireland have but six information boxes and the UK has nine. The Italians, on the other hand, require more than 500.
Some southern European states use the return as a detailed auditing tool, while others require just a simple tax record. The new form would be of benefit to businesses in some countries, but a lot of new red tape for countries such as the UK, Ireland and Germany.
The UK, along with others, has refused to introduce the form and the EU will have to return the plan to the drawing board.
