German politicians are notoriously bad on European issues, almost always pushing for more centralization, harmonization, and bureaucracy. So it is surprising to see that the German government is rejecting a Luxembourg proposal to give the EU a direct source of tax revenue. This may just be a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day, but it is refreshing to see Germany on the right side for once:
Germany opposes a proposal to introduce a European Union-wide tax because the bloc already has sufficient funds, the finance ministry said Monday. The comments come ahead of a meeting of euro-zone and EU finance ministers in Brussels later Monday and Tuesday. Ministers are expected to discuss economic policy coordination. Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Luc Frieden has proposed the introduction of a European tax, with proceeds going directly into the EU budget. …The German finance ministry said “such a tax is not necessary because existing funding rules already ensure sufficient own funds for the EU.” The ministry said such a tax would complicate the existing financial funding system of the EU, which is based on revenues from custom duties and the EU’s shares in the member states’ value-added tax and gross national income.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100118-705000.html
