Tempestade Cerebral

Via Intermitente, o possível caminho para o fim dos fundos comunitários (meus destaques):

"Europe's corporate tax rates have been historically very high and its consumers continue to put up with a plethora of high value-added taxes and excise duties. Yet, even the most socialist of European states are cutting taxes.

Why, considering that public debt as a percentage of GDP is rising in most European countries and that their long-term liabilities, such as public pensions, remain unfunded, are Europeans reducing their taxes? Because of the convergence of two factors: growing European bureaucracy and EU enlargement. Vigorous pursuit of harmonization of European rules and regulations by the bureaucracy in Brussels restrains European nations from offering businesses better conditions than their neighbors can. That leaves tax rates, which continue to be determined at a national level, as the primary policy tool to affect competitiveness of European companies. Lower taxes among countries that will join the EU in May 2004 gave the current EU members a further impetus to act.

It is equally bad news for the European Commission President Romano Prodi, who recently received a letter from the six biggest net contributors to the EU budget, informing him that those countries would prefer to cut their contributions from the current 1.24 percent of annual GDP to 1 percent. Judging by that letter, the EU bureaucracy has -- once again -- succumbed to the law of unintended consequences. By harmonizing European regulations, Brussels has forced the member states into a tax-cutting mode, which will result in less revenue for the bureaucrats to play around with. Well done!"

Outra consequência desta concorrência fiscal entre os estados-membros é a "obrigação" destes, mais cedo ou mais tarde, reduzirem o montante das despesas públicas para manter o Défice e o nível da Dívida Pública - a alternativa é aumentar os impostos dos contribuintes individuais....

Surpreendentemente, será a burocracia da União Europeia a "forçar" a redução do papel desta e do Estado português na nossa economia!

Nota: aconselho a leitura de todo o artigo, intitulado "Good Unintended Consequences".