The Impact of New EU Own Resources on Regional and Local Governments

In its EU Budget Review, the European Commission has once again proposed the idea of financing the budget through an EU tax. While it is very unlikely that Member States will want to tackle any question concerning the structure of ‘own resources’, a discussion on the real EU added value of such a tax is currently needed. In particular, this paper addresses the potential consequences an EU tax could have on territorial entities, highlighting how impacts are likely to be very diversified. After reviewing the main possible options, Fabian Zuleeg and Elisa Molino argue that the introduction of an EU tax would not succeed in solving the ‘juste retour’ issue or in reducing the alienation of citizens. 

This paper has been written as part of a Framework Contract with the CoR.

To read the paper, please click here.