The EU Tax and Customs Commissioner has set out proposals aimed, as he sees it, at boosting EU competitiveness.

As part of a four year plan, the Commissioner will introduce:

• proposals to modernise the Customs Code and promoting a better use of information technology in the customs area;
• a proposal to allow companies to use a single basis of assessment for corporate tax for all their EU-wide activities,
• proposals to modernise VAT rules particularly the current VAT treatment of financial services, in order to improve efficiency and reduce costs, and of public authorities, in order to ensure a level playing field with the private sector;
• a Communication on ways of combating tax fraud in the EU;
• A Communication on R&D tax incentives that will set out the key EU legal conditions, highlight existing best practices and, where appropriate, set out the political message;