Value added taxes on electronic commerce: Obstacles to the EU Commission’s approach

2000

While e-commerce is developing tremendously fast, domestic politics and legislation labour to keep up with the dynamics of the new technology. Among other things, fiscal law is a particularly explosive area. Here, the current proposal of the EU Commission is to apply the already existing value added tax to e-commerce. By doing so, the Commission hopes to prevent the massive threatened shortfall in tax revenue. How is this approach of the Commission to be judged? Are there any alternatives?