Europe's Ultra-Rich Could Fund a Substantial Part of the EU's Budget

Spending needs for the EU budget for 2028–2034 have grown, and nowhere more so than in the investment required for the social and ecological transformation. At the same time, it is important to move beyond the problematic debate about higher national contributions to the EU budget, since those contributions are financed largely through taxes on labour and consumption. We have analysed how new EU revenue sources — among them taxes on ultra-high wealth and on crypto transactions — could help to do exactly that.

Political negotiations on the EU budget for the years 2028–2034 are entering a critical phase. The European Commission has presented a concrete proposal for a larger EU budget. Under it, the budget for the 2028–2034 period would amount to almost €2 trillion, or around 1.26 per cent of the EU’s gross national income (GNI), compared with approximately 1.1 per cent under the current financial framework.