Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

85. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on his attendance at the June 2018 ECOFIN meeting; the engagement he has had with his ECOFIN colleagues in respect of the proposed EU digital tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30830/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The June ECOFIN Council commenced with a Breakfast discussion on the economic situation and Ministers were debriefed by the Eurogroup President on the Eurogroup meeting held on the day before. We also discussed the future of EU finances in the framework of discussions on the next multiannual financial framework.

On the legislative side of the agenda, the Council discussed the VAT "quick fix" Directive and Regulation, however, agreement was not reached on the file. Ministers noted the Presidency report on progress with the technical discussions on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme. Under the Any Other Business item, Ministers were debriefed by the Presidency on the state of play of current legislative proposals in the field of financial services as well as on the state of play of the negotiations on the Insolvency Directive .

On the non-legislative side of the agenda, the Council approved recommendations on the National Reform Programmes as well as on the updated Stability or Convergence Programmes which are part of the 2018 European Semester, andwere subsequently endorsed by the June European Council.

In the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact , Ministers adopted the following acts:

- a Decision toabrogate the Excessive Deficit Procedure for France;

- a Decision establishing that no effective action has been taken by Romania under the Significant Deviation Procedure; and

- recommendations with a view to correcting the significant deviation from the adjustment pathtowards the medium-term budgetary objective in Hungary and Romania.

The Council took note of the Convergence Reports for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden , prepared every two years by the European Central Bank and the Commission. The next regular reports are due in June 2020.

The Council also approved the list of legislative "A" items and non-legislative “A” items(matters agreed without debate).

Taxation of the Digital Economywas not on the formal agenda of the Ecofin Council. The Commission’s proposals are currently the subject of technical discussion among Member States. There is a growing recognition that issues arising from the digitisation of the economy require a global solution that is sustainable in the longer term. While a number of Member States are still in favour of the interim EU Digital Service Tax proposal, it is important to recall that the recent OECD Interim Report of the Task Force on the Digital Economy found that there is no consensus on the merit or need for such short term measures which it is widely acknowledged can be economically damaging. OECD work is focussed on finding a sustainable globally agreed solution by 2020, based on the principle that taxation should occur where value is created, which is also the basis of Ireland’s taxation system. Ireland will continue to actively contribute towards the debate at both OECD and EU level with a view to finding a sustainable solution that works for all.