Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Tax provisions - Harmonization of laws - Turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax - Prohibition of the levying of other national charges which can be characterized as turnover taxes - Purpose - Meaning of `turnover taxes' - Scope - Stamp duty levied on only a portion of economic transactions - Not included

(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 33)

Summary

Since the purpose of Article 33 of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes is to prevent the functioning of the common system of value added tax from being jeopardized by fiscal measures of a Member State levied on the movement of goods and services and charged on commercial transactions in a way comparable to value added tax, that provision does not preclude the maintenance of a national charge which, having the characteristics of a stamp duty levied on works contracts and contracts for the supply of materials or any kind of consumer article, to the exclusion of a large portion of economic transactions in the Member State concerned, is not a general tax since it is not intended to apply to all economic transactions in the Member State concerned and does not therefore have one of the essential characteristics of value added tax.