Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • fx
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home»Finance

    Parliament wants to reduce red tape for small firms

    npsBy nps11 March 2010Updated:9 July 2024 Finance No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: EU Law European Parliament SMEs
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Ina Dimireva

    Very small companies could be exempted from having to draw up annual accounts, following approval by the European Parliament of changes to EU accounting rules. Voting in the 10 March plenary, MEPs said it would be up to each Member State to grant such exemptions, depending on the impact the directive would have in that country. Companies would in any case still have to keep records of their business transactions and financial situation. The EP approved the legislative resolution with 445 votes in favour, 196 against and 21 abstentions.

    About 7.2 million EU companies are subject to reporting rules under EU accounting directives. In order to boost the competitiveness and growth potential of micro-companies, the proposal would allow Member States to simplify the business environment for these companies by waiving the usual reporting requirements. “The reach of micro-entities’ business is generally confined to the regional and local market. To that extent they have no cross-border impact on the single European market, and the logical conclusion, therefore, is that they need not be bound by EU-wide internal market regulations”, said the rapporteur Klaus-Heiner Lehne (EPP, DE).

    Member States can exempt companies from drawing up annual accounts if they meet two of the following criteria: (1) balance sheet total under €500,000, (2) turnover under €1,000,000 and/or (3) average of 10 employees during the financial year. However, the EP’s report also gives Member States the freedom to choose whether or not to exempt micro-entities “taking account in particular of the situation at national level regarding the number of businesses covered” under threshold values.

    The EP insisted that Member States still subject micro-entities to the obligation to keep records that show the company’s business transactions and financial situation, “as a minimum standard”, so that information remains transparent and accessible. Since the Council still blocks the proposal, during the debate, the rapporteur stressed that the blocking minority should “rethink its position”.

    The Commission’s impact assessment calculated that the average cost per company of complying with the requirements of the accounting directives is €1,558. Of this amount, the administrative burden (i.e. collecting and processing information purely to satisfy legal obligations, without a real business need) is €1,169. If all Member States were to exempt micro-companies and did not impose additional requirements, the proposal could save an estimated at €6.3 billion.

    Report on the annual accounts of certain types of companies as regards micro-entities

    Commission proposal

    Texts adopted by the EP on 10 March (Provisional edition)

    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    Council agrees reform of EU VAT rules for the digital age

    Eurozone Economic Calendar

    One step closer towards a Single VAT Registration in the EU

    LATEST EU NEWS

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    14 November 2024

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    14 November 2024

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    14 November 2024

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    14 November 2024

    EU artificial intelligence factories set for 2025

    13 November 2024
    BRIEFING

    Agenda

    This week, COP29 begins in Azerbaijan; finance ministers discuss the EU's annual budget for 2025; and MEPs hold a plenary session on EU-US relations, EU summits, deforestation and COP 29...

    EUbusiness Week

    This week competitiveness and environment ministers will hold informal meetings…

    Eurozone Economic Calendar

    Key economic calendar events for the week 11 to 16 November 2024

    The Week's Top Stories

    This week competitiveness and environment ministers will hold informal meetings…

    Advertisement

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    Latest Posts

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    14 November 2024

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    14 November 2024

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    14 November 2024

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    14 November 2024

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Tems
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025
    Design and developed by : Dotsquares

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login below or Register Now.

    Lost password?

    Register Now!

    Already registered? Login.

    A password will be e-mailed to you.

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok