Vol. 498 No. 6
19 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the result of his recent discussions with his German counterpart with particular reference to Germany's preference for an equalisation of taxation policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28125/98]
29 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance if he will report on his meeting with the German Minister for Finance, Mr. Lafontaine; his views on the expressed views of Mr. Lafontaine in relation to European fiscal and monetary policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28037/98]
40 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the comments of Mr. Oskar Lafontaine, German Finance Minister, in relation to tax harmonisation throughout Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26374/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19, 29 and 40 together.
The meeting with the German Finance Minister lasted one hour and two main topics were discussed, namely the EU budget and the German contribution to it and tax co-ordination within EU. Mr. Lafontaine and myself set out our respective positions on various matters relating to these two issues. It was not a negotiating session but a preliminary exchange of views in the light of the fact that Germany will take over the EU Presidency on 1 January next. I emphasised that as far as Ireland was concerned tax harmonisation was not part of the scenario and that I favoured the route proposed by Commissioner Monti which was the code of conduct on business taxation aimed at combating harmful tax competition. Mr. Lafontaine spoke in terms of improving co-ordination of tax policy within the EU rather than establishing uniform tax rates.
It is clear from the meeting with Mr. Lafontaine and from the subsequent discussions at the Vienna Summit that harmonising business or personal tax rates in the Community is not on the agenda. This is confirmed in the agreed conclusions to the Vienna Summit:
