Financial Services in the VAT System in the European Union and Croatia

This paper presents differences in the VAT treatment of financial services. We investigated the treatment of financial services in the VAT system in EU countries as well as in Croatia, in order to reveal differences and improvement possibilities. The results show that there is a need for significant improvement in the VAT system, especially in Croatia. Furthermore, European Union countries have applied tax regulations since 1977. The research on the VAT treatment of financial services indicates that there is unequal application of tax exemptions and adverse tax competition in EU countries. Nevertheless, Croatia is still adjusting its legislation (the tax treatment of financial services) with EU provisions. Our paper thus provides a comparative analysis of the treatment of financial services in the VAT system in EU and Croatia that could be useful for the new consideration of the financial services position in the VAT system in Croatia.