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EU budget chief seeks backing for business levy to fund recovery
T
he EU’s budget commissioner has called on member states to back new taxes including an annual levy on 70,000 big companies to access the single market, as part of a package of measures to help fund the bloc’s recovery. Johannes Hahn told the Financial Times that there was no practical alternative but to hand the European Commission new sources of direct revenue — or “own resources” — to service the debt it would take on under the €750bn recovery plan unveiled last week. These could include a mooted €10bn annual levy that Mr Hahn said would affect 70,000 companies in Europe with global turnover 86
I do not see appetite [from] anybody.” The proposals would make the EU budget less dependent on the national contributions that make up the overwhelming majority of the bloc’s revenues. But the plans would face formidable political obstacles; EU states have traditionally been The only options other than rais- deeply wary of creating new own ing these new revenues would be resources on top of existing ones, a politically unacceptable squeeze such as customs duties. Ursula von on spending or higher budget con- der Leyen, European Commission tributions by the member states, he president, last week called for new explained. “I don’t see real alterna- own resources as part of plans for tives,” he said. “A smaller budget the €750bn recovery fund, which she will not be acceptable for the huge hopes member states will put at the majority of member states. And heart of their common response to concerning future contributions, the crisis. exceeding €750m. “What we are aiming at is — at the latest by the end of 2027 — that we will have a functioning, steady flow of new own resources to our budget,” the commissioner said in an interview, adding that he was ultimately targeting €15bn-€20bn a year.
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