Harmonization of Direct Taxes in the European Community

As laid out in the Treaty of Rome, the primary objective of the European Community is to raise living standards in ail member states by establishing a common market and progressively approximating their economic policies. This involves, among other things, the abolition of obstacles to the efficient allocation of resources and ensuring that competition is not distorted. The Single European Act, which was signed in 1986 and came into effect in July 1987, provided further impetus to the achievement of this objective by aiming for the completion of a single internai market by the end of 1992. The internai market is defined in the Single European Act as “an area without internai frontiers in which the movement of goods, persons, services, and capital is ensured...».