As Germany assumed the EU Council presidency July 1, German members of the European Parliament (MEPs) called on leadership to deliver a coronavirus recovery package that is green, invests in digitalization, and introduces new taxes.
Martin Schirdewan, a MEP from the European United Left-Nordic Green Left group, said the German presidency should emphasize EU solidarity in the recovery efforts. “Everyone should contribute their fair share to the social and economic recovery and revival of society,” he said, as quoted in a July 1 EP release. “This means the introduction of a digital tax, a comprehensive financial transaction tax and a one-off wealth tax for the super-rich.”
Schirdewan expanded on his tax demands in a manifesto posted to his website. He said the financial transaction taxshould extend beyond stock trading in large companies to derivatives and high-frequency trading, and that the one-time wealth tax should compel the top 1 percent of the EU to give up 10 percent of its wealth.
In a plan released June 30, the German presidency said it is “committed to the introduction of a financial transaction tax at [the] European level.” The plan also says Germany will seek to quickly implement at the EU level the results of OECD negotiations on proposals to tax the digital economy, including a minimum global effective tax rate.
The OECD is leading work on a multilateral solution to tax the digital economy, which calls for a revision of global profit allocation and nexus rules (pillar 1) and global minimum taxation (pillar 2). Nearly 140 countries in the OECD’s inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting are aiming for consensus on a solution by the end of 2020.
MEPs from the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) group said Germany needs to couple its large recovery response with bold action on climate and the environment.
"The German presidency has six crucial months to make the Green Deal and climate protection the engine for job creation, recovery,” said Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts, co-president of the Greens/EFA, in a June 30 release. “The council and commission must launch a European economic stimulus package based on solidarity and gender equality, as quickly as possible and tie it to Green Deal projects, climate protection, digitalization, innovation, and the rule of law.”
Germany said in its presidency plan that it would focus on introducing a carbon border tax and European carbon price that includes industries outside the scope of the EU emissions trading system.
German MEP Jörg Meuthen from the Identity and Democracy Group called Germany “the debt presidency” and said it should reduce the EU budget, prevent EU taxing competence, and include the per capita wealth of member states in the calculation of financial redistribution for the recovery.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will present the country's presidency plan at the next EP plenary session July 8 in Brussels.