EU shelves tax plan for fear of unsettling Irish voters
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THE EU has quietly shelved a plan to harmonise the corporate tax base across the union for fear of unsettling Irish voters ahead of a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
The European Commission and the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, have both indicated a proposal will not now be tabled for at least six months.
“We will not address this issue during our presidency,” Czech finance minister Miroslav Kalousek told journalists in a recent briefing on the Czech priorities for its presidency.
A senior commission official also confirmed the EU executive would not table the sensitive taxation proposal until after a new commission is appointed in November.
“We cannot publish any proposal before a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is held in Ireland. The issue was misused during the last Lisbon referendum by the No campaign even though it would not have affected Ireland’s corporate tax rate,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We can’t risk that happening again.”
More here: EU shelves tax plan for fear of unsettling Irish voters - The Irish Times - Mon, Jan 19, 2009
