VAT Connecting Factors: Relevance of the Place of Supply

Abstract

The recent modifications on the place of supply rules regarding broadcasting, telecommunications and electronic services have brought a renewed interest on VAT connecting factors. Goods moving between EU countries and third countries have been traditionally subject to a rather straightforward set of provisions, as the implementation of the destination principle mainly relies on the traditional border tax adjustments. However, when dealing with supplies of services or with intra-Community transactions, the complexity of the place of supply rules increases as the realization of the destination principle depends exclusively on these provisions. In the absence of any further mechanism, these rules must lead to taxation of the 'import' of goods and services in order to guarantee tax neutrality in the domestic market, while they must also ensure that relevant 'exports' are not subject to European VAT in order to remove a tax obstacle from domestic entrepreneurs carrying on their activity in the global markets.