WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2733/98 by Christine ODDY to the Commission. Deforestation in Venezuela
29. 4. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 118/129 Joint answer to Written Questions E-2727/98, E-2728/98 and E-2729/98 given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (5 October 1998) The Commission has already examined the possible macro-economic impact of its proposal for a Council directive to ensure a minimum of effective taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments within the Community (1) and in particular the risk of capital flight. Careful consideration of this evaluation was taken into account in the final decision concerning the proposed minimum withholding tax rate of 20 %. As mentioned by the impact assessment form attached to the Commission proposal, the parties which will be regarded as paying agents are normally already under an obligation to identify the beneficiaries of their interest payments and often also have to discharge tax collection or declaration responsibilities on behalf of their own national tax authorities. The extra obligations placed on them for the purpose of carrying out the measures introduced by the directive will probably require them to adapt their administrative procedures and computer programmes, but the measures have been devised in such a way that the cost of these adaptations and the additional administrative burden should be relatively limited. A precise quantification of this cost would be impossible at this stage as it will be influenced by the choices and procedures adopted by each Member State within the coexistence model, which are not yet known. Given this uncertainty and the lack of reliable national statistical data on the exact share of cross-border interest income which is paid to Community-resident individuals, the Commission considers that an independent study on the potential effect on capital markets of the proposed measures could not produce really useful results, at least at this preliminary stage of the technical debate on the proposed text within the European institutions. (1) OJ C 212, 8. 7. 1998. (1999/C 118/160) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2733/98 by Christine Oddy (PSE) to the Commission (1 September 1998) Subject: Deforestation in Venezuela Will the Commission make the strongest possible representations to the government of Venezuela which is posing a grave threat to its rainforests by proposing to allow nearly half the Imataca Forest Reserve to be opened to mining and logging interests? The proposal would threaten the traditional way of life of the indigenous population of the forest and lead to massive destruction of wildlife, as well as posing a dangerous precedent for the future of similar forest areas. Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (8 October 1998) Conservation and sustainable management of the tropical forests are important issues for the Commission, which has committed over ECU 500 million to actions in this field since 1992 and is following closely all events in this sector. Since its creation in 1961, the Imataca Reserve has been subject to illegal mining activities, which have grown more important during the last years. The proposed decree 1850 aims at regulating these activities by introducing more environmentally friendly practices, because it is thought to be socially impossible to stop them altogether. Indeed, Venezuelaís economy has suffered heavy setbacks because of the near 50 % drop in oil prices over the last year. This has left roughly half of the population to survive in appalling conditions and caused a steep rise in the efforts to service the massive external debt. Given these