EU could have common corporate tax base by 2010: official

(VILNIUS) - The European Union could introduce a common consolidated corporate tax base by 2010 in at least 12 of its 27 member states, the EU commissioner responsible for taxes and customs said here Monday.

The aim of having an EU common consolidated corporate tax base is to give companies with a presence in more than one member state a single set of rules to compute their group taxable income.

It would overcome what the EU describes on its website as "the fundamental problem of dealing with up to 27 different tax systems."

EU Commissioner Lazslo Kovacs said 12 EU members currently strongly support a proposal to introduce a harmonized tax base, five to seven are against, and the remainder are undecided.

"I hope we would be able to present a proposal to the Commission next year, and if we manage to get a decision on 'enhanced cooperation', another two years would be enough for implementation. So it could start working in 2010," Kovacs told reporters here.

The EU's so-called enhanced cooperation procedure does not require unanimous approval by all member states, but at least eight states must be involved.

"There should be nearly two-thirds participating and the door will be left open for others who wish to participate," Kovacs said of proposals to harmonise the corporate tax base.

He stressed that the Commission does not aim to harmonise corporate tax across the 27-member bloc.

"We want to maintain the sovereignty of member states as far as setting tax rates is concerned," the commissioner said.