Most VAT systems exclude public bodies from the scope of value added tax (VAT) systems. However, because what is considered proper for public bodies to engage in varies over time and depends on political preference, there has been a growing awareness that the exclusion necessarily gives rise to economic distortion and legal uncertainty. A movement to include public sector bodies within the GST system to some extent or even fully (as in New Zealand) underlies the European Commission's 2011 study on the treatment and economic impact of exemptions in the public interest. Whether the present EU treatment really is as bad as the distorting effects suggest, or whether the New Zealand model really is so perfect that jurisdictions with exclusion models ought simply to replace these existing systems with a New Zealand style system: these are the questions which triggered this research and which form the basis for the critical analysis contained in this book. Using a system design point of view, the author focuses on VAT schemes where exclusion or inclusion of public bodies are currently being applied and on how these models function. He presents an in-depth analysis of the major issues in this context, such as the treatment of public bodies as taxable persons, their right to deduct input VAT on acquisitions, and the treatment of the income of public bodies. Specific aspects examined include the following: ; reallocation of funds and income vs. the production/distribution/consumption cycle; the concept of 'merit goods'; bias to self-supply instead of contracting out; preference to integrate vertically in the supply chain; applicability of VAT to government regulatory services; tax cascading in the public goods and services context; administration and compliance burden in government agencies; interpretational and implementation difficulties in EU Member States; and VAT compensation schemes considered as illegal State aid in the public sector context. The book concludes with an insightful discussion of what might be considered as 'best practice' in relation to both the exclusion and full tax models. Peerless in its thorough discussion of the treatment of public bodies in various VAT systems, and in the EU VAT system in particular, this study will be warmly welcomed by practitioners, academics, and policymakers as a giant step.

The current European VAT legislation encompassing insurance and financial services, including intermediation thereof, dates back to the adoption of the Sixth VAT Directive in 1977. The definitions do not, however, encompass the current complexity of insurance and financial transactions. This has resulted in considerable confusion for fiscal authorities and for businesses when deciding upon the application of the VAT exemption. As the correct VAT treatment has a significant economic impact on businesses, a great number of cases have been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This is also the reason why the European Commission presented its proposal for the future treatment of insurance and financial services, including intermediation thereof, in November 2007. The political process has not yet been finalised and if the Commission's proposal is agreed upon, the question of understanding the definitions still exists. This book deals with the exemption for intermediation of insurance and financial services within European VAT. This implies analysing the methods of interpretation applied by the Court of Justice of the European Union when interpreting the provisions regarding insurance and financial services. Furthermore, the current definitions for intermediation of insurance and financial services as provided for in the VAT Directive are analysed and conclusions are made in order to define a single concept of intermediation. These analyses are followed by various practical scenarios from case law of the Member States concerning intermediation of insurance and financial services. Finally, comments based on the analyses carried out are given on the European Commission's proposal for amending the VAT Directive and the accompanying Regulation regarding intermediation of insurance and financial services.

This book explains the theoretical and policy issues associated with the taxation of financial services and includes a jurisdictional overview that illustrates alternative policy choices and the legal consequences of those choices . The book addresses the question: how can financial services in an increasingly globalized market best be taxed through VAT while avoiding economic distortions? It supports the discussion of the key practical problems that have arisen from the particular complexity of the application of VAT to financial services, and allows for the evaluation of best practice by comparing the major current reform models now being implemented.

Die Digitalisierung hat enorme Auswirkungen auf die Grundidee der Mehrwertsteuer: den Austausch von Leistungen für Konsumzwecke. Die Dissertation konzentriert sich auf den Austausch von scheinbar "kostenlosen" Online-Dienstleistungen und die Zustimmung der Kunden zur Verwertung ihrer persönlichen Daten. Diese können der Mehrwertsteuer unterliegen, wobei die Bemessungsgrundlage auf Grundlage der Anbieterkosten berechnet werden muss. Die Ergebnisse basieren auf einer Analyse der EU-Mehrwertsteuer als Verbrauchsteuer im Vergleich zu anderen theoretischen Konsummodellen. Auch andere digitale Geschäftsmodelle, wie die Sharing Economy oder Bitcoins, können unter die Idee der EU-Mehrwertsteuer als Verbrauchsteuer subsumiert werden. Dissertationspreis der Nürnberger Steuergespräche e.V. 2020

A breadth of new digital platforms has dramatically expanded the range of possibilities for exchanging anything required by business or personal needs from accommodation to rides. In the virtual marketplaces shaped and ruled by these novel matchmakers, rather than by a single centralized entity, value is created through the granular interaction of many dispersed individuals. By allowing instantaneous and smooth interaction among millions of individuals, platforms have indeed pushed the digital frontier farther and farther, so as to include within it even services once not capable of direct delivery from a remote location such as accommodation and passenger transport. Legal disruption is also underway with foundational dichotomous categories, such as those between suppliers and customers, business and private spheres, employees and self-employed, no longer viable as organizational legal structures. This is the essential background of the first book to relate what is synthetically captured under the umbrella definition of ‘sharing economy’ to key features at the core of European Value Added Tax (EU VAT) and to look at the feasibility of a reformed EU VAT system capable of addressing the main challenges posed by these new models of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Specifically, the study analyses five legal propositions underpinning the current EU VAT system as the following: taxable persons; taxable transactions; composite supplies; place of supply rules; and liability regimes for collection and remittance of VAT. Exploration of these five legal propositions is meant to assess the practical feasibility of shoehorning the main sharing economy business models – notably, those available in the accommodation and passenger transport sectors – into the framework of existing EU VAT provisions. The author further draws on the normative standards of equality, neutrality, simplicity, flexibility and proportionality to test the ‘reflexes’ of the current EU VAT system in the sharing economy domain. Opportunities for reform of the current EU VAT system are in turn evaluated with each chapter including cogent proposals in the form of incremental and targeted amendments to the current EU VAT provisions. As the first comprehensive analysis of the treatment of the sharing economy for VAT purposes, the book provides not only a theoretical framework for future studies in the tax field but also indispensable practical guidance for VAT specialists confronting daily with the many challenges ushered in by the sharing economy. Moreover, the various solutions and recommendations advanced in the book offer valuable insights to international and national policymakers dealing with similar issues under other VAT systems.