Gentiloni says digital levy to fund NextGenerationEU will be proposed by summer

Today (28 April) the European Parliament debated the future of a digital tax. In a report by Andreas Schwab MEP (EPP, DE) and by Martin Hlaváček MEP (Renew, CZ) the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee reporters and their colleagues in the Budget Committee called for a fairer outcome and the creation of a new ‘own resource’ to fund the NextGenerationEU and the recovery and resilience fund (RRF).

The MEPs would prefer to have an international agreement negotiated through the OECD Inclusive Framework (IF), but after many delays, MEPs say that a European solution needs to be prepared by the summer even if the IF process has not been resolved. 

Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni agreed with MEPs and said that the US administration did offer a new dynamic in resolving this question, nevertheless the EU would be coming forward with a proposal by the summer that would be compatible with the OECD process and which would respect the EU’s other international commitments, including those under the World Trade Organization. 

Gentiloni said that the two pillars – one based on allocation of taxes based on profits and the other on the need for a minimum corporate tax level – should not be treated separately and should be agreed as a package. 

Both MEPs and the commissioner were aware of the need to create the new ‘own resource’ mandated by heads of government and needed to pay back debt accrued in helping the EU’s COVID-hit economy recover. The deadline for the new resource to become operational is the start of 2023.

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