Lewandowski’s EU Tax Gamble – the thing is, the EU already collects its own taxes
Phillip Souta
Objections in principle to an “EU tax” seem to ignore the fact that we’ve already got something very close. A chunk of the EU budget already comes from its “own resources”. The debate on this issue would make more sense if we acknowledged that from the outset.
Janusz Lewandowski (European Commissioner responsible for Financial Programming and Budget) is going to be fighting an uphill battle in September when he proposes EU-wide taxes. Earlier this month he rather bravely suggested that the member states might appreciate paying less directly in favour of allowing the EU to levy taxes on (for example) financial transactions, air travel or carbon. Britain, Germany and France all voiced strong and immediate opposition – immediately scotching the idea. Read full article »