Value Added Tax Harmonization in the European Union

The cooperation needed in the tax sense in the European Union, which was established for the purpose of economic integration, constitutes an important part of the integration process. For this reason, there is a need for the approximation of the tax systems of the member states and thus harmonization studies. Within the scope of harmonization studies, the directives published by the Council of the European Union are mostly used. It is understood from the published directives that Value Added Tax is prioritized compared to other tax types in harmonization studies aimed at ensuring taxation integration. Within the scope of harmonization studies related to Value Added Tax, many directives have been published from the past to the present, and the directives that are determinative on the common value added tax system among these directives have been examined in the study. Considering the rules determined in the directives examined in the study, the reduced rates, super-reduced rates, standard rates and parking rates applied within the scope of value added tax in member countries were compared. As a result of the comparison, it is understood that although significant progress has been made in the harmonization of value added tax in the European Union, there are still significant differences in the rate.