2020年经济学人 欧盟——填充金库(2)

Some members have long pledged a tax on financial transactions.

一些成员国长期以来一直承诺对金融交易征税。

But as James Tobin, its intellectual godfather, supposedly said, the levy¹ is like the Loch Ness Monster:

但正如其知识教父詹姆士·托宾所说，征税就像是尼斯湖水怪：

the idea occasionally pops up then disappears for years.

这个想法偶尔会冒出来，然后又消失多年。

National vetoes might make taxing foreigners look attractive. Leaders said they would try to implement² two such levies³ by 2023:

国家否决权可能会让向外国人征税看起来更有吸引力。领导人们表示，他们将努力在2023年前实施两项这样的税收：

a "carbon border-adjustment mechanism⁴" (a tariff⁵ on climate-unfriendly imports), which could raise 5bn-14bn euros a year,

一个是“碳排放边境边界调整机制”（对气候不友好进口商品征收关税），每年能筹到50亿至140亿欧元，

and a less lucrative⁶ levy on (mainly American) tech firms. Yet these face problems too.

一个是对（主要是美国的）科技公司征收利润较少的税。然而，这些也面临着问题。

The border mechanism is devilish to design and will be challenged at the World Trade Organisation⁷.

边境机制的设计非常棘手，且将受到世界贸易组织的挑战。

America's opposition⁸ to a digital tax has stalled a parallel process at the OECD, and given pause to governments trying to impose national versions.

美国反对数字税阻碍了经济合作与发展组织的行进程，也让各国政府暂停了实施国家版本的努力。

Contributions from members based on national income have long made up the bulk of the EU's budget.

长久以来，成员国基于国民收入的贡献一直是欧盟预算的主要组成部分。

Every seven years countries grapple over minor⁹ adjustments to it; the summits are bruising¹⁰, but governments retain control.

每隔七年，各国就会为一些小的调整而争吵不休；峰会争吵激烈，但政府依旧掌握控制权。

Introducing fresh own resources would jolt¹¹ them out of such zero-sum thinking,

引入新的自有资源将让他们跳出这种零和思维，

says Valerie Hayer, a French member of the European Parliament, and give heft to common priorities, such as climate.

欧洲议会的一名法国成员Valerie Hayer说到，并重视共同优先处理问题，如气候。

The parliament, which must approve last week's deal,

议会必须批准上周的协议，

will seek to ensure that governments' vows¹² on own resources are not "empty", she adds. Yet it cannot force their hands.

并将寻求确保政府对自有资源的承诺不是“空谈”，她补充到。然而，议会不能强迫他们采取行动。

If the own-resources discussion flops¹³, countries could simply pay more into the next budget to repay the recovery-fund debt.

如果自有资源谈论失败，那么各国只需在下一项预算中投入更多资金，以偿还复苏基金的债务。

But history shows that governments under fiscal¹⁴ pressure prefer to cut the EU's spending, says Ms Rubio;

但历史表明，处于财政压力下的政府更愿意削减欧盟的支出，Rubio说到；

common endeavours such as research were slashed¹⁵ to preserve the recovery fund last week.

上周，为了保存复苏基金，研究等共同努力被大幅削减。

Still, a lot can happen before 2028. For the EU to borrow and redistribute hundreds of billions of euros would have seemed unimaginable a year ago.

不过，2028年之前还有很多事情都可能发生。对于欧盟来说，借款和再分配数千亿欧元在一年前似乎是不可想象的。

The topic of own resources "was never sexy", says Mr Monti. "Now it is beginning to become so."

Monti表示，自有资源的话题“从来都不吸引人”。“现在情况开始变得如此。”

1 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

2 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 levies   

（部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队

参考例句：

• At that time, taxes and levies were as many as the hairs on an ox. 那时，苛捐杂税多如牛毛。
• Variable levies can insulate farmers and consumers from world markets. 差价进口税可以把农民和消费者与世界市场隔离开来。

4 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

5 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

6 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

7 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

11 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

12 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

13 flops   

n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
• HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网

14 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

15 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》