Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-08-Speech-1-146"
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"en.20100308.17.1-146"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, our public finances are in a situation of crisis and we know that part of the solution may lie in reducing some spending, but that a large part of the solution is in Member States’ ability to raise more funds.
When these flows leave and return, we have the opportunity to demand that they can be traced, and to know whether or not they have been subject to this tax on financial transactions. If they have, no problem. If they have not, then we can deduct an entry or exit tax. We have done so for years in the real economy with the Common External Tariff. Financial globalisation is now obliging us to do so in the financial sphere of the economy, and it is entirely possible from a technical point of view. What is needed is the political will.
The issue at stake, therefore, is knowing what type of tax may be increased, what type of tax must be increased, and what the consequences of these tax increases will be. The Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance estimates that it would be difficult to significantly raise the taxes paid by small businesses, which create the majority of jobs. It is difficult to increase the taxes paid by families – with the possible exception of those paid by the richest – because in the majority of cases, these are already high enough, particularly in Europe.
The question, therefore, is: which taxes should be increased? If taxes on small and medium-sized enterprises are not increased and nor is VAT, other possibilities will inevitably have to be sought. We estimate that a tax on financial transactions is, in the end, the least painful tax for the European economy. It is the tax with the least negative consequences for the global competitiveness of the European economy.
Moreover, the cost of financial transactions has diminished enormously over the last ten years or so, both because of a certain number of technical improvements – if they can be called that – and because of European regulation.
In fact, these reductions in costs have been entirely absorbed by the financial industry and the banks. It would not be totally unjustified if, by means of a tax on financial transactions, part of the profit saved by the banks from these decreased costs made its way back to the public authorities that saved them.
As is always the case, this House is turning this into a very ideological debate, but it is actually quite technical. Transaction costs existed before; they have been reduced. Today, we are proposing that they be increased again in order for public authorities to benefit from these technical improvements and not just private actors.
Naturally, the issue of whether the European Union can take this step forward on its own is being raised. It is clear to everyone that it would be better if this were done within an international framework. If others – specifically, the United States – do not follow our lead, the following question arises: is the European Union’s prospect of achieving this then ruled out?
Some statements – for example, that of Mr Gauzès – suggest that the Group of the European People’s Party believes that Europe can do nothing on its own. That situation would not, of course, be perfect and there would be obstacles to circumvent. Does that, however, mean that the European Union should necessarily position itself at the lowest common denominator, that it should have the least possible regulation, and align itself with the least ambitious actor? That does not seem to us to be the sort of thing that will strengthen the European Union’s position of leadership in the world.
Furthermore, it is possible to imagine the European Union putting this transaction in place on its own. This is quite simply because the capital flows that concern us start out in the European Union, then may move elsewhere, only to return to the European Union."@en1
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