WRITTEN QUESTION E-0545/00 by William Newton Dunn (PPE-DE) to the Commission. British stamp duty discriminating against British businesses.
C 136 E/2 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 8. 5. 2001 (2001/C 136 E/002) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0545/00 by William Newton Dunn (PPE-DE) to the Commission (28 February 2000) Subject: British stamp duty discriminating against British businesses Bearing in mind one of the principles of the treaties, i. e. that there must be no discrimination between citizens of the European Union, is it legal for the British Government to levy stamp duty on individual transactions in shares in British companies but to allow transactions in shares in non-British companies to be exempt from stamp duty? Supplementary answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (14 September 2000) Stamp duty reserve tax is governed by Part IV of the Finance Act 1986 (sections 86 and seq. ). Under these irrespective of the residence of the purchaser, to transfers of shares in British rules it only applies, companies or shares in relation to which a register is kept in the United Kingdom. This limitation of tax jurisdiction is in line with the concept of territoriality, a general principle of international law. Moreover, since stamp duty reserve tax is not harmonised at Community level, the United Kingdom is free to design it according to its own preferences as long as the EC Treaty principles are respected, in particular that of non-discrimination. The existence of a national tax which does not also exist in other Member States does by its very nature charge predominantly residents and nationals of that Member State. However, this effect does of course not constitute discrimination contrary to the EC Treaty. (2001/C 136 E/003) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1326/00 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (27 April 2000) Subject: Pesticides affecting Spanish fruit and vegetables and the possibility of introducing an EU pesticides passport In view of the high concentrations of pesticide residues on Spanish fruit and vegetables which have been found in recent weeks, a reported by the German Association of Fruit Trade Enterprises ( Der Spiegelí 9/2000, p. 86), and with a view to introducing an EU pesticides passport in response to the need for transparency for food safety, and in order to facilitated food checks, I should like to know: 1. Is the Commission aware that for a number of weeks now Spanish paprika highly polluted with pesticides have been supplied to Germany and that the permissible maximum concentration of the anti-mite product Methiocarb has been exceeded? If so, when did the Commission receive the relevant data and to what extent have the public been informed? 2. What action does the Commission intend to take to comply with the need for transparency in food safety? 3. Since an increasingly broad spectrum of pesticides is being used, and food inspectors are not aware that they have been used, the search for plant protective residues has proved ineffective and it is at variance with the need for transparency in food safety. What action does the Commission envisage to put an end to this unacceptable state of affairs?