2020年经济学人欧盟——填充金库(1)（打印版）

Nothing in this world is certain, mused Benjamin Franklin, except death and taxes.

世界上没有什么是确定的，本杰明·富兰克林沉思地说到，除了死亡和税收。

He never had to contend with the European Union's unanimity rule.

他从不需要应付欧盟的一致同意规则。

Eurocrats have long sought to bolster the EU's budget with "own resources"—

欧盟的官员一直以来都想用“自由资源”支撑欧盟预算——

ie, revenues that accrue to it, rather than cash handed over by member countries on the basis of national income.

即应计收入，而不是成员国根据国民收入上交的现金。

But almost every attempt to centralise taxation has fallen foul of a national veto. The last big reform to EU revenues was over three decades ago.

但几乎每一次将税收集中化的尝试都遭到了国家的否决。上一次欧盟财政收入的重大改革还是在30多年前。

Some think the club's coming borrowing splurge will revive the debate.

一些人认为欧盟即将进行的大举借债将重新引发争论。

On July 21st the EU's 27 national leaders agreed to allow the European Commission to borrow up to 750bn euros ($880bn)

7月21日，欧盟27国领导人同意让欧洲委员会借款7500亿欧元（即8800亿美元）

and dish out the proceeds, more than half in the form of grants, to help countries recover from the covid-19 recession.

并分配收益，其中大部分将以补助的形式用于帮助各国从covid-19衰退中恢复。

Repayment will start in 2028; new "own resources", the leaders said, should contribute. Once-sceptical members are now keener.

还款将于2028年开始；“自有资源”，各国领导人表示，应该有所贡献。曾经持怀疑态度的成员们现在变得更热衷。

"Countries see more concretely that taxes will either have to be collected by the EU or included in national contributions,"

“各国更具体地看到，税收要么必须由欧盟征收，要么必须包含在国家贡献中，”

says Mario Monti, a former Italian prime minister who led an inquiry into own resources in 2017.

意大利前总理马里奥·蒙蒂说到，他曾在2017年领导了对自有资源的调查。

For fans of "more Europe", common taxes on top of common debt would mark a decisive step towards fiscal union.

对于“亲欧派”粉丝而言，在共同债务之上再加共同税收，将标志着朝着财政联盟迈出决定性的一步。

An EU levy on plastic waste may funnel 7bn euros a year towards the budget from 2021. But beyond that, the commitment is thin.

从2021年开始，欧盟每年对塑料垃圾征税可能为预算注入70亿欧元。但除此之外，承诺单薄。

The logic of vetoes has not changed, notes Eulalia Rubio at the Jacques Delors Institute, a think-tank.

否决权的逻辑没有变，智囊团Jacques Delors Institute的Eulalia Rubio注意到。

Every proposal is opposed by one government or another. One idea is to direct revenues from the EU's carbon-trading scheme to Brussels.

每个提议都会被一个或另一个政府所反对。一个提议是将欧盟碳交易计划的收入直接转移到布鲁塞尔。

But that might deprive national treasuries of income; Germany and Poland are sceptical.

但这可能会剥夺各国国债的收入；德国和波兰表示反对。

Another idea is a "single-market" tax on companies. But the Dutch and the Irish are reluctant to squeeze firms.

另一个想法是对企业征收“单一市场”税。但荷兰和爱尔兰不愿意压榨企业。