"If we want to make structural reforms that are useful to our fellow citizens, we will have to progressively move from unanimous voting to qualified majority voting when it comes to taxation", Moscovici said on Tuesday.
While Moscovici conceded that a paradigm shift had taken place over the last 10 years on the question of taxation in Luxembourg and that the Grand Duchy had been very forthcoming to EU directives on the matter for the past four and a half years, the EU commissioner explained that it is now time for the next step.
Moscovici touched on the "delicate" subject of taxes in Luxembourg, saying that a lot has already been done to combat tax evasion in the country. However, he said that real progress could only be made by a move from unanimous voting to qualified majority voting in the EU on the issue of taxation. He named energy taxes in the fight against climate change, the digital economy, and VAT taxes as examples of issues that could be moved along a lot quicker by a change in the voting system.
So far, the Luxembourgish government has remained quite unimpressed by this proposal. PM Xavier Bettel said that he didn't want Luxembourg's fiscal policies to be dictated by the EU.
Moscovici showed understanding for these arguments, saying that some believe that a new system could risk marginalising smaller countries. In an effort to ease concerns, the EU Commissioner said that Luxembourg had no reason to fear marginalisation because, while it is small in size, the Grand Duchy plays an important role in the EU.
Moscovici's approach was criticised by CSV MP Laurent Mosar, who explained that the EU could end up crippling itself on the global market by introducing a fairer tax system. Mosar believes that the move towards qualified majority voting could disrupt the current equilibrium and destroy the "level playing field":
"We can't give ourselves strict rules and have the rest of the world ignore them: The Americans, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Russians. I think we could risk a very difficult competitive situation, which is why I think caution is essential."
Mosar went on to say that while the meeting with EU Commissioner Moscovici was very positive, a number of important questions still remain on the topic.
