Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević G10, room 6, Wed 11:00-12:00 Session 9

1. The European Court of Auditors can _________ out audits of any institution which uses EU funds. It can also conduct on-the-_________ checks. Its employees prepare _________ reports for the European Commission. 2. OLAF has extensive _________ of investigation into civil offences. 3. Cigarette smuggling and _________ of euro coins are some of the illegal activities investigated by OLAF. 4. The Tax Administration can _________ persons for violating tax regulations. The trials take place at the criminal and _________ courts. 5. The aim of the common tax policy in the EU is to avoid large differences in VAT rates, which can _________ the single market.

1. The European Court of Auditors can CARRY out audits of any institution which uses EU funds. It can also conduct on-the-SPOT checks. Its employees prepare DRAFT reports for the European Commission. 2. OLAF has extensive POWERS of investigation into civil offences. 3. Cigarette smuggling and COUNTERFEITING of euro coins are some of the illegal activities investigated by OLAF. 4. The Tax Administration can PROSECUTE persons for violating tax regulations. The trials take place at the criminal and MISDEMEANOUR courts. 5. The aim of the common tax policy in the EU is to avoid large differences in VAT rates, which can DISTORT the single market.

 seizure of assets  tax base  tax liability  to submit a tax return  GDP growth rate  dismissal  diversion of funds  subsidy

 seizure of assets – zapljena imovine  tax base – porezna osnovica  tax liability – porezna obveza  to submit a tax return – predati poreznu prijavu  GDP growth rate – stopa rasta BDP-a  dismissal - otkaz  diversion of funds – preusmjeravanje sredstava  subsidy - subvencija

 konkurencija  trošarina  prekogranična trgovina  (sudsko) vijeće  sklopiti sporazum  poremećaj tržišta  prihod od poreza

 konkurencija - competition  trošarina – excise tax, excise duty  prekogranična trgovina – cross-border trade  (sudsko) vijeće – (court) chamber  sklopiti sporazum – conclude an agreement  poremećaj tržišta – market distortion  prihod od poreza – tax revenue

1. The Court checks the revenue and expenditure of the European Union (and any body created by the Community) for legality and regularity and ensures that its financial management is sound. 2. Member states set the rates of personal income tax themselves. VAT rates are an exception, although there is considerable leeway for national differences. The EU requires unanimity of all member states for any decisions on tax matters. This rule safeguards national autonomy. 3. The most important of the ‘Maastricht criteria’ is that the country’s budget deficit cannot exceed 3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) for more than a short period. Public borrowing must not exceed 60% of GDP. 4. The Tax Administration collects and processes data on defined and collected taxes and obligatory contributions and proposes changes in tax policy and tax regulations and other regulations in order to improve the tax system and collect taxes and obligatory contributions in a more efficient way.

Thank you for your attention!