This issue is often presented in simplistic and emotional terms, so I want to explain my views. I do not believe, and I am not proposing, that the EU should set tax levels in the member states. These are a matter for national budgets and national budgets are an essential part of national sovereignty. They are, and must remain, in the hands of national parliaments. Nor am I against a reasonable degree of tax competition.
Competition is essential for a healthy economy and it is good for consumers.
I am not in the business of harmonising tax rates. What I do believe, however, and what I have proposed to European heads of state and government, is that the EU should be allowed to take tax-related decisions by qualified majority voting where necessary to keep the single market operating. After all, majority voting already applies to all other decisions concerning the single market and the EU has already enacted a good deal of tax legislation, particularly on value-added tax. I am not proposing to transfer any sovereignty from the national to the European level. I have proposed safeguards to ensure that majority voting cannot apply to sensitive decisions such as harmonising tax rates.