Creation of Common Value Added Tax in the European Communities: Study of the sixth EC VAT directive

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K22099
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0107:Economics, business administration, and related fields
• Research Institution: Teikyo University
• Principal Investigator: Konishi Anna 帝京大学, 経済学部, 講師 (70795921)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 付加価値税 / 欧州統合 / 財政 / 経済史 / 税の公平性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the process involved in the establishment of the European Community (EC) Value Added Tax (VAT) system in 1977. The adoption of the Sixth Council Directive which established the EC VAT system was driven by objectives such as the coordination of tax systems among member states and the attainment of autonomous financial resources for the Community, with the aim of promoting greater integration within the EC.
However, the harmonization of VAT bases across the diverse member states presented considerable technical challenges.Furthermore, the resistance from the United Kingdom added to the complexities. The United Kingdom expressed a desire to circumvent the utilization of the harmonized VAT system as a source of revenue for the EC budget. Consequently, the implementation of the EC VAT system occurred in an imperfect state, lacking full harmonization and experiencing limitations in its realization.

Free Research Field

欧州経済史　欧州統合史　財政学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

理事会六次指令によるEC型付加価値税の制定は、欧州経済共同体（EEC）創設以来進められてきた加盟国間の売上税制協調の一つの成果であり、かつ、その後付加価値税制がEC予算の初めての共同体税的性格を有する独自財源として位置づけられたという点で、欧州統合の歴史にとって重要な出来事であった。理念型としてのEC型付加価値税とその実態の乖離およびその乖離の要因も明らかにした本研究課題の成果は、これまでの付加価値税制研究だけでなく、欧州統 合史研究にも新たな論点を提示するものである。