European Parliament calls for tax on financial transactions, crypto assets

By Ata Ufuk Şeker

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday demanded taxation on companies, financial transactions, and crypto assets in order to repay the EU's common debts and to finance various programs.

At the EP General Assembly session held in Strasbourg, the status of the union's budget and increasing revenue sources were discussed.

MEPs approved a report on bringing new resources to the budget with 356-199 votes.

In the report, it was pointed out that the EU finances should be reformed quickly in order to implement the union's policies, achieve the targets and ensure confidence.

Underlining that the EU budget is under pressure, the report stated that its own resources would not be sufficient to meet the repayments and borrowing costs of the EU's recovery program.

It mentioned that within the framework of the recovery program, the EU will have to pay an average of at least €15 billion ($16.4 billion) per year until 2058.

In the report, which noted that the economic and social shock caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and inflation had a heavy impact on the EU budget, the importance of providing additional income sources to the EU was also mentioned.