I know that most readers will find this hard to believe but here at J’accuse we don’t really relish having to deal with these cases of plagiarism or lazy article writing. We feel obliged however to report that only two days after David “Scissorhands” Casa’s ‘article’ appeared in the Indy, another work of snippety art has appeared this time in the Old Faithful itself.
Casa, or whoever it is that scribbles the notes that give signs of activity in Brussels by the erstwhile repeat offender for the Nationalist Party and EPP, seems to have less faith in getting away with publishing murder with the censors at Strickland House. The reason for this added caution is not all too unjustified given the penchant of some editors over in St Paul’s Street to interfere with content. What we therefore get in this week’s mastery entitled “Less red tape, more productivity” is a mixture of paraphrasing from two Commission documents (Commission Proposal for Council Directive (…) COM 2009(21) and Communication from Commission to Council COM 2009(20)).
At some point the hand behind the Casa missives to the general public does not resist the urge to cut and paste whole chunks – there would be no problem in doing so if they were attributed to the source in question as a citation. What does come out is that Casa passes off the work as his own by signing the piece and reminding everyone that “Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament).
It’s sad. We don’t like this job but nobody else seems to notice so we feel obliged to point this out – if only to prove that we were right when in the run up to the EP election we warned voters to look beyond the blinding light of the pick’n’mix caravans that were being proposed by both parties. Casa might have been too busy acting as rapporteur on a report “that is aimed to introduce a common system of Value Added Tax on invoicing” (actually that statement is misleading but we have too much on our hands to explain) so he might have commissioned one of his minions (normally a head canvasser at election time – the political system works wonders dunnit?) to write the “articles” for Times and Indy.
It must be said for fairness’ sake that Casa IS the rapporteur of the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee in parliament that is dealing with the Council proposed legislation. He has every right to plunder into publicly available documents and use that information in precis form to inform idiots like me and you about the goings on in his corner of the EP. What would be nice Mr Casa is the use of quotes and references – otherwise the whole charade is exposed for what it is… a dazzling marketing gimmick from another politician of the MLPN ilk. Plus ca change!
Casa was still supposed to vet the articles if he did not write them himself. You do that when you are about to append your name at the end and hope that the popolin will skim through the technical stuff and declaim “Kemm hu bravu Casa… qed tara.. tellajniegh l-Ewropa hi!” Well he did not. So know J’accuse is forced to decipher the sources in Rosetta Stone fashion for the reader’s delight. Here is the analysis in colour code according to source. I have had to reproduce the article from the Times but given the amount of reproduction going around these days I am sure they will understand that it is for a good cause!
REFERENCES:
(not quoted by Casa but provided by J’accuse for your interest)
Parliament Procedure file of Committee for which Casa is rapporteur.
Commission Press Release containing related documents.
SOURCES:
COM (2009)21 Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax as regards the rules on invoicing.
COM (2009) 20 COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL The technological developments in the field of e-invoicing and measures aimed at further simplifying, modernising and harmonising the VAT invoicing rules.
Less red tape, more productivity
David Casa
The times we are living in require full committment from businesses throughout the European Union in order to keep up with the fierce competition that they face especially from the emerging markets of Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. It is therefore natural that we seek measures that will ease the bureaucratic burden that businesses, most notably SMEs, face in their daily running. I have been recently appointed rapporteur on a report that is aimed to introduce a common system of Value Added Tax on invoicing. The proposed report will not only simplify the invoicing procedure but will also harmonize the rules throughout the European Union. This proposal will also be an important tool for Member States in the fight against fraud and economic crimes.
As the situation stands now, there are too many administrative burdens that are hampering growth and put a limit on the innovation that a businessman may want to undertake for his business. This is obviously due to unecessary expenses and red tape. I believe that we should make the most of the new technologies availiable in order to become more efficient and reduce costs.
This change should complement the fight against tax fraud with more secure and foolproof systems.
This report will eliminate many barriers simply by removing the differences between invoices sent electronically and those sent on paper, thereby putting both methods on the same platform.
This proposal is also in line with the Lisbon Agenda which focuses on growth and jobs. Thus the introduction of e-invoicing and the removal of legal obstacles for their transmission will reduce costs considerably and increase efficiency, thus playing an important role in reaching the goals of the mentioned Lisbon Agenda. All this will complement the introduction back in 2008 of the single European Payment Area aimed at harmonising the payment process throughout Europe. (mostly bits of page 3 of report)
As I already said, this new system will also help in tackling fraud and while an invoice can be the instrument to commit the actual fraud it is also the main document that authorities use to check whether tax has been paid or not, thus in updating the present legislation there will be more possibilities for the tax authorities to control taxable persons.
In drafting this report the Economic and Monetary affairs committee is at present identifying the different methods and rules in the 27 member states of the European Union and trying to harmonise them into one common system. Secondly it is undertaking a study of the problems that businesses face in meeting the various obligations and to establish a control measure for the national administrations. It is recognised that Member States need flexibility to be able to control the tax. At the same time, the aim of reducing burdens on business and simplifying the invoicing rules is important. In balancing these needs, the aim is to keep the option to require taxable persons to issue an invoice for B2C supplies but require only a simplified invoice giving a limited amount of information. In addition, established and non-established taxable persons must be treated equally. (point 4.1.9 of report)
It is our aim to simplify administrative procedures as much as possible in view of the financial crisis that has hit the economic world. We must make the most of our resources in order to increase productivity.
As with all reports that deal with finance, there are many details and aspects that must be taken into consideration in order to attain an end result that is satisfactory for all concerned parties. I am sure that as with the previous reports I dealt with, most notably the European Fisheries Fund and the Introduction of the Euro Currency in Slovakia, we will strike the right balance.
Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.
