European Parliament approved the EU VAT legislation, authored by Ľudovít Ódor

Strasbourg – The European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg on Wednesday approved by a large majority vote new rules for modernizing VAT in the digital age (ViDA). This is the EU legislative agenda, with Slovak deputy Ľudovít Ódor (Renew Europe/PS) as rapporteur, reports TASR’s Brussels correspondent.

589 MEPs voted in favor of adopting the ViDA rules, which mean a significant reform in the era of digitization to simplify processes associated with VAT across the EU, 42 were against, and ten abstained.

Ódor pointed out that members of all factions voted for the new legislation, however, against the new rules, for example, were seven Slovak MEPs – both from the Republika party, from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) faction, and also all five deputies for Smer-SD, who are unaffiliated in the European Parliament.

“We will reduce bureaucracy for companies at the EU level and make it harder for billion-euro VAT frauds, the so-called carousel frauds, that took place between EU member states,” explained Ódor, who became the EP rapporteur for this legislation on behalf of the liberal group Renew Europe (RE) last Tuesday.

The deputy remarked in his plenary speech that the legislative body of the EU is “moving in the right direction” by approving these rules, as it supports efforts to use around 20 billion that the Union loses annually in VAT fraud for “correct purposes”.
According to his words, in practice, this will mean more money for the state budgets of the euro bloc member countries.

Ódor questioned the negative voting primarily from deputies for Smer-SD, as SR Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický from the same party approved the new rules at the EU Council in Brussels. (February 12).

We will reduce bureaucracy for companies at the EU level and make it harder for billion-euro VAT frauds, the so-called carousel frauds, that took place between EU member states.” Ľudovít Ódor