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VAT on financial services: the unanswered questions

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Abstract

Financial services consist of contractual arrangements involving intermediation in monetary preferences spread over time, risks and persons. Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the final consumption of goods and services. The European Union has until now chosen to tax the production of such services when consumed within the Union, the result of which has been to create serious distortions of competition in violation of the objectives of the European Treaties. The case-law of the European Court of Justice has led to the exemption of back-office services provided to banks and to the taxation of the same operations in the insurance sector. For many years, the European Commission has tried to develop solutions, but never has it examined all the possible alternatives and, in particular never assessed their costs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loyens & Loeff Advocaten – Avocats, Woluwe Atrium Neerveldstraat 101–103, 1200, Brussels, Belgium

    Christian Amand (Avocat)

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  1. Christian Amand
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Correspondence to Christian Amand.

Additional information

This article is based on a presentation given by the author at the Fourth VAT Forum, held at the Academy of European Law Trier on 29–30 November 2007.

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Amand, C. VAT on financial services: the unanswered questions. ERA Forum 9, 357–376 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-008-0090-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-008-0090-3

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