WRITTEN QUESTION E-1284/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 May 2001)

Subject: EU direct tax

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt recently called for a direct EU tax levied on all citizens. This view is supported by the Belgian Finance Minister, Didier Reynders, who commented at a Belgian Presidency tax seminar on 26 March 2001 that Mr Verhofstadt would have the opportunity to raise this issue in the Council meeting in December at Laeken.

Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer told the Danish paper Politikien in March that she thought it was a good idea and believed it would make EU politicians more responsible in relation to citizens. She suggested a tax might take the form of a tax on interest from savings placed in another country, or might be an EU CO2 tax, and added that President Prodi was also interested in this idea.

1. Could the Commission please state if it has any plans to introduce such a tax on EU citizens, in any of the forms described, or in any other form?

2. Could the Commission please state if it has discussed this subject in internal meetings, or with the members of the Belgian Government?

3. Does the Commission take the view of the Budget Commissioner that such a tax would make politicians more responsible to citizens?

4. What position will the Commission take in the run-up to the December meeting in Laeken, where a direct EU tax might be on the agenda?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Following the discussions which took place within the framework of Agenda 2000, the Council adopted on 29 September 2000 a new decision concerning the system of the own resources of the Communities (2000/597/EC, Euratom). This decision will enter into force as soon as the ratification procedures by the national parliaments are completed.

This decision stipulates (Article 9) that the Commission will undertake, before 1 January 2006, a general review of the own resources system accompanied, if necessary, by appropriate proposals, in the light of all relevant factors. Among these factors is mentioned the possibility of modifying the structure of the own resources by creating new autonomous own resources. In a statement attached to the decision, and at the request of the Parliament, the Commission committed itself to presenting the results of this review before the end of 2004.

An objective could be to replace the existing financing system of the European Union's budget with one or more European taxes without imposing an additional financial burden upon European citizens. The Commission therefore welcomes all suggestions put forward by the Member States, which could encourage the debate on these questions, such as the remarks made recently by the Prime Minister of Belgium with regard to the European Council in Laeken to which the Honourable Member refers. The Parliament expressed a similar view in its resolution of 5 July 2001 on the situation of own resources in the European Union in 2001.

The Commission has not formally made any specific proposals at this stage. Exchanges of views and of information could take place on this subject within the framework of the usual contacts between the Commission and the authorities of the Member State that holds the Presidency of the Council of the Union.