The money is allocated to Hampshire on the normal standard spending assessment basis.

Seeking a minimum degree of harmonisation, for example on the assessment basis, would mean breaking new ground.

After all, as the President-in-Office has said, there is majority support for this uniform assessment basis, but an open door to agreement is not yet in sight.

Member States who have only recently introduced a completely different tax system, for example a flat-tax system – that is, a single rate for company taxation, income tax and such like – have difficulty supporting a uniform assessment basis.

Assessment basis: The work is based on assessments on the performance of more than 3500 stock-listed companies with an initial revenue of greater 250 million Euro globally and across industries over a period of 12 years from 1997 till 2009.

At the informal Ecofin Council meeting, there were also discussions on, inter alia, the introduction of taxation assessment basis for company taxation, revealing once more that a number of Member States reject the notion or at least are very sceptical about it.

At the end of this informal Council, the Council President, Karl-Heinz Grasser, stated that the discussions had shown there to be clear majority in favour of this assessment basis. In the Ministers’ estimation, this basis would result in cost savings for enterprises and a simplification of the national tax systems.