Well-attended Brussels conference for experts on taxation and social insurance issues in European border regions
Issues relating to taxation and social insurance are of great significance for the labour market in border regions. For this reason the Öresund Committee arranged a conference in co-operation with the Committee of the Regions and the Swedish Presidency of the European Union. The conference was aimed for experts on taxation and social insurance and was held in Brussels on Friday, 23 October 2009.
During the conference there were lectures from taxation and social insurance experts from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Jones Day, Øresund Direkt and a number of European universities. The conference was fully subscribed with more than 60 participants from Germany, France, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere. Also present were representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Danish Ministry of Taxation and Sweden’s Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
Because of differences in the regulations governing taxation and social insurance in different countries, cross-border commuters in all of the EU’s border regions face numerous problems. There is, therefore, a need to review the regulatory frameworks and adapt them at national level.
The main point made during the conference was the degree to which cross-border commuters are affected by both taxation laws and differing social insurance systems in their countries of residence and employment, and the urgent need for better integration within and between these two areas.
The conference also highlighted the need to identify good examples from different border regions and pointed to the necessity of more research into and more seminars on the problems of taxation and social insurance in the border regions. EU member states were encouraged to adopt a more amenable attitude towards finding national solutions as far as the administrative implementation of proposals was concerned.
The conference also encouraged more bilateral solutions, as solutions are often easier to find at a national level rather than at EU level.
The various speakers’ PowerPoint presentations from the conference are available below.
1. The Öresund Committee, Mr Stamming
2. Committee of the Regions, Mr Illeborg
3. Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Mr Andersson
4. Tax treaty between Sweden and Denmark, Mr Dahlberg
5. The 2001 tax treaty between Belgium and the Netherlands, Mr Heyvaert
6. The Nordic Tax Treaty between Sweden and Norway, Mr Gjems-Onstad
7. The role of Regulations 1408/71 and 883/2004, Mr Verschueren
8. The Öresund application: coordination between Sweden and Denmark, Ms Emma Holm
9. The Maas-Rhein application: coordination between Belgium and the Netherlands, Mr van Overmeiren
10. Øresunddirekt - Public Communication, Ms Møller Voss and Mr Steffensen
Scientific Report on the Mobility of Cross-Border Workers within the EU-27/EEA/EFTA Countries:
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