Einde inhoudsopgave
The EU VAT Treatment of Vouchers (FM nr. 157) 2019/2.4.1
2.4.1 VAT: a tax on consumption
Dr. J.B.O. Bijl, datum 01-05-2019
- Datum
01-05-2019
- Auteur
Dr. J.B.O. Bijl
- JCDI
JCDI:ADS599430:1
- Vakgebied(en)
Omzetbelasting / Levering van goederen en diensten
Omzetbelasting / Bijzondere OB-regelingen
Omzetbelasting / Vergoeding
Voetnoten
Voetnoten
From an economic standpoint, turnover tax represents a tax on consumption that is consequently transferred to the consumer: The EEC Reports on Tax Harmonization, The report of The Fiscal and Financial Committee and The Reports of the Sub-Groups A, B and C, IBFD, Amsterdam 1963, second edition (1969), p. 25.
See, for example, Sybren Cnossen, “A Primer on VAT as Perceived by Lawyers, Economists and Accountants”, in: Value Added Tax and Direct Taxation: similarities and differences by Michael Lang et al., IBFD, Amsterdam 2009, p. 141.
See Artt. 311-341 of the EU VAT Directive.
See Artt. 16 and 26 of the EU VAT Directive.
See Artt. 19 and 29 of the EU VAT Directive.
See, for example, CJEU cases C-317/94, Elida Gibbs Ltd and Commissioners of Customs and Excise, ECLI:EU:C:1996:400, paragraph 19 et seq., C-475/03, Banca popolare di Cremona Soc. Coop. arl v. Agenzia Entrate Ufficio Cremona, ECLI:EU:C:2006:629, paragraph 31 et seq. and C-371/07, Danfoss A/S and AstraZeneca A/S/v. Skatteministeriet, ECLI:EU:C:2008:711, paragraphs 46 et seq.
See, for example, Alan Schenk and Oliver Oldman, Value Added Tax: a comparative approach, Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 33 and 64, Liam Ebril et al., The Modern VAT, International Monetary Fund 2001, p. 23, and Gert-Jan van Norden, Het concern in de btw, Kluwer, Deventer, p. 21 et seq.
A.J. van Doesum, Contributions to Partnerships from a European VAT Law Perspective, (2010) 19 EC Tax Review, Issue 6, pp. 259–271.
A.J. van Doesum, Contributions to Partnerships from a European VAT Law Perspective, (2010) 19 EC Tax Review, Issue 6, pp. 259–271.
OECD (2017), International VAT/GST Guidelines, OECD publishing, Paris, pp. 14-15.
Art. 1 of the EU VAT Directive states: “The principle of the common system of VAT entails the application to goods and services of a general tax on consumption (…)”. Therefore, one may assume that VAT intends to tax consumption.1,2 Various other provisions in the EU VAT Directive support this assumption. Examples are:
the so-called ‘margin scheme’3 under which the supply of certain goods that have already been (partially) used/consumed, such as second-hand goods and works of art, is not always taxed on the full price when (re)sold; and
the provisions that provide for certain forms of private use to be subject to VAT even when not performed for consideration;4 and
the provisions that establish that the ‘transfer of a going concern’, where no consumption takes place, is not considered a taxable transaction.5
The CJEU has repeatedly confirmed that VAT is a tax on consumption.6 Also, in literature, authors often qualify VAT as a tax on consumption.7 Van Doesum refers to this as the ‘legal character of VAT’.8 He refers to the method of achieving the taxation of consumption, i.e. by applying the VAT generally to transactions relating to goods or services and is charged at each stage of the production and distribution process, as ‘the general, objective character of VAT’.9 In the OECD’s International VAT/GST Guidelines, the ‘overarching purpose of a VAT’ is defined as ‘a broad based tax on final consumption’ and the ‘central design feature of a VAT’ is the staged collection process.10