EU Floats Taxing 70,000 Companies for Market Access, FT Reports

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union could charge 70,000 companies for access to the EU market to help pay for its coronavirus recovery program, Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn was quoted as saying in a Financial Times interview.

Hahn said there's no alternative to giving the European Commission new sources of revenue to service the debt it would take on under the 750 billion-euro ($833 billion) plan, according to the FT. He called on EU member countries to back the company tax.

The commission's blueprint for the recovery fund includes proposals for several new “own resources,” including revenue from emissions trading and taxing digital companies if a global solution can't be found. Hahn appears to be expanding on a more general suggestion to raise funds “based on the operation of large companies.”

The levy would target 70,000 companies in Europe with global sales exceeding 750 million euros and depend on the company's size, Hahn told the FT.

“What we are aiming at is — at the latest by the end of 2027 — that we will have a functioning, steady flow of new own resources to our budget,” he was quoted as saying.

The economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and agreement by EU leaders for unprecedented aid measures has turned attention to the EU's common budget, which is financed by member countries. Giving tax-raising powers to the EU itself has been discussed for some time, though it's resisted by some governments as infringing on their sovereignty.

Any common EU taxes would require approval by all 27 EU national governments and the European Parliament.