asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the recent proposal that an EEC tax on petrol and tobacco should be introduced in member states.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EEC Tax Proposal.
30.
There is no formal proposal to introduce an EEC tax on petrol and tobacco. The Deputy probably has in mind a reference in a Commission communication on the future financing of the Community budget to a number of possible new sources of revenue for the budget, including a Community tax on petrol and tobacco. The communication was in the nature of a discussion document and was the subject of an initial exchange of views at a Joint Council of Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministers on 2 April. In the light of the discussion at the joint council the Commission are at present re-examining the position regarding the future financing of the budget.
Could the Minister amplify his statement to indicate what attitude would be taken by the Government to any such proposal if it emerged in concrete form?
That is a separate question.
The overriding issue in the Commission communication which referred to the possibility of tax on petrol and tobacco is a suggestion that member states' contributions to the Community budget should be geared to their ability to pay. This would involve introducing a corrective mechanism into the resources side of the budget. Ireland would favour such a mechanism. Discussions to date on this issue at both Council and Council Working Group level have concentrated on the question of introducing a mechanism. As our attitude towards the new source of budgetary revenue for the Community would be determined largely by the Council's attitude towards a corrective mechanism, it would not be appropriate at this stage to take a position one way or the other on a tax on petrol or tobacco, or on any of the other revenue options referred to in the communication from the Commission.
I did not honestly expect it would be.