And the answer to that, he says, is not tax harmonisation but reform of the welfare state.Tax harmonisers, however, have another argument up their sleeves.
This is not a harmonisation of tax rates, which will remain a national prerogative, but creates an alternative tax base to enhance the single market.
This, it says, means removing distortions in indirect taxes (such as VAT, excise duties and energy taxes), ending preferential tax treatment of foreign companies, and stamping out tax evasion.Mario Monti, the single-market commissioner, even asserts that co-ordination of some of Europe's tax systems is "not about harmonisation, and not about raising taxes, but about reducing them".
But the decision-making process is not straightforward and harmonisation between the frameworks is a real challenge.
He insists that he is not engaged in "tax harmonisation for the sake of harmonisation", but rather in "tax co-ordination"—which he defines as helping member states to do what they want to do anyway.
Opponents say "harmonisation" is not some boring, technocratic exercise, but rather a race to the bottom that will dilute quality controls and safety standards.
What we are intending now is not fully-fledged tax harmonisation in each and every detail but eliminating from our tax legislations the open gates [for tax avoidance].
"What we are intending now is not full-fledged tax harmonisation in each and every detail but eliminating from our tax legislations the open gates [for tax avoidance]," he said.
That rapid IVD to detect important infectious diseases are seen as a priority for harmonisation is not surprising in light of health needs in this region of Africa.
However, the use of different procedure classifications is not the only obstacle in the harmonisation of DRGs: the local applications of standardised disease classifications, such as the ICD-10 are also known to vary across European countries [ 3].
If competition is not to be "distorted" by such anomalies, harmonisation is needed.
