LONDON. De^ 9: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhardt Shroeder yesterday published a joint declaration promoting "tough action to combat unfair tax competition in Europe, reports AFP.

However, their text steered clear of the contentious issue of savings tax. which financiers in the city of London financial district fear might reduce London's competitive edge as an international financial services hub.

The text also failed to offer any sign of agreement one the thorny issue of majority voting on European tax narmonisa-

tion plans.

Britain insists that all tax issues must continue to be agreed unanimously by member states, in opposition to a Franco-German Initiative to implement majority voting.

The text said that "discriminatory tax rules and practices should generally be removed to prevent the distortion of competition within the EU."

But it insisted: "we do not favour a unified European system of corporate taxation."

The agreed position also state that "at no stage have we considered measures to harmonise personal income tax."