European Parliament Approves VAT Legislation, with Odor Serving as Rapporteur

The European Parliament (EP) with a large majority approved new rules for modernising VAT in the digital age (ViDA) in Strasbourg on Wednesday (February 12), with Slovak MEP Ludovit Odor (Renew Europe/Progressive Slovakia) serving as rapporteur for the agenda, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent in Brussels.

The aim of the new ViDA rules is to simplify VAT processes across the European Union (EU). MEPs approved the rules with 589 votes in favour, 42 against and ten abstentions.

Odor pointed out that members of all factions voted in favour of the new legislation, but seven Slovak MEPs from the Republic party and from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) faction, along with five non-attached Smer-SD MEPs, voted against.

Odor explained that the legislation will be of benefit "by reducing bureaucracy for businesses across the entire EU and making it harder to commit billion-dollar VAT fraud, such as carousel fraud that has occurred between EU-member states". Odor became the EP rapporteur for this legislation on behalf of the liberal Renew Europe (RE) group last Tuesday.

In his speech at the plenary, the MEP said that by approving these rules, EU legislation is "moving in the right direction" because it supports efforts to ensure that the 20 billion euros that the EU loses each year to VAT fraud will be used for the right purposes, meaning more money for the national budgets of EU-member states.

Odor expressed concern over the negative votes, especially from the Smer-SD MEPs, as Slovakia's Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky from the same party had approved the new rules at a EU Council session in Brussels.