Last week, the ten countries participating in the enhanced cooperation to introduce a financial transaction tax (FTT) reported good progress in their discussions and believed that an agreement might well be reached in the autumn (see EUROPE 12275/2). One of the points under discussion is specifically the pooling of revenue collected at a national level between participating Member States.
A joint document from France and Germany, of which EUROPE has received a copy, presents a proposal for a "balanced allocation mechanism”. The proposal has already been discussed and is basically agreed upon, a diplomatic source assured on Wednesday, June 19.
According to the proposal, countries that are expected to generate little or no revenue from the FTT would be guaranteed a "minimum revenue" of EUR 20 million to cover, as a minimum, the fixed associated with establishing and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for the collection of an EU-wide FTT.
The document indicates that, based on the Commission's estimates, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia would require a "top-up” to reach the guaranteed minimum revenue. These top-ups would add up to a total of €50 million for the three countries, which would only be borne by countries whose own FTT revenues exceeded €100 million, namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The distribution of top-up payments is based on each country's gross national income, the document states. For example, France would contribute 25.61% and its revenue, after pooling, would change from €1 billion to €987.20 million. Germany, on the other hand, would contribute 38.14% and would lose, after pooling, just over €19 million.
Austria and Portugal, which would generate less than €100 million from the FTT, would not have to contribute to the top-ups and could therefore be able to keep the full amount of their revenue, estimated at €33 million.
According to the Franco-German proposal, this guaranteed minimum revenue should be part of a broader decision regarding the BICC and should, in this case, require the establishment of a specific IGA among the enhanced cooperation participating Member States. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)