Eurozone Finance Minister: Germany open to discuss idea

BERLIN: Germany is willing to discuss the creation of a euro zone finance minister who would have his own budget and raise extra taxes, the German magazine Der Spiegel. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last month laid out a vision for tighter joint control over the currency zone’s economies, including a common euro zone treasury. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is open to the idea to transfer ‘substantial financial resources’ from his tax revenues to a separate budget of the monetary union. One option could be that the 19 euro zone member countries would transmit parts of their national revenues from income and value-added tax to such a euro zone budget. The euro zone finance minister could also get the right to put a surcharge on taxes, amounting to the creation of a ‘euro tax.’ A spokeswoman said the discussion on the creation of such a separate fiscal capacity for the euro zone was just beginning. Individual elements under discussion have to be seen and would require changes to the European treaties.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2015.

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