Ref. Ares(2021)4534463 - 13/07/2021 Closing Remarks by Commissioner Oettinger: an own resource contribution on plastics – the case for action [if needed, to be finalised during the intervention of participants]  Thank you very much for this useful and quite lively debate. I have taken note of your concerns and of your opinions. Let me quickly summarise what has been said.  There is a general consensus that fiscal measures can play a role in reducing plastic pollution. But obviously, any new taxation initiative must be considered carefully.  We all agree that we shall endeavour to find a solution which would help accelerate the implementation of the plastic strategy.  A reasonable contribution to the EU budget would also be desirable, but it is not the first objective of this initiative. 1. Stimulate the investment, innovation and marketing decisions in industry  On the first agenda item, I noted your concerns that a tax would entail a risk of shifting the production outside the EU. Moreover, it could hit small and medium enterprises.  Furthermore, a production tax can hardly be targeted to the most dangerous products on an environmental perspective.  I agree that we need to take this into account. 2. Fostering more sustainable consumption patterns and consumer behaviour  On the second item, I need to conclude that taxes on consumers are considered to be less harmful for growth as compared with production taxes.  Furthermore, retail taxes could in principle be better targeted to the plastic items causing the most environmental damages.

 On the other hand, I have taken note of your concerns regarding the feasibility of plastic consumption taxes, in particular in terms of administrative costs for national tax authorities and for businesses.  Furthermore, we agree that we do not want to increase the tax burden of EU citizens.  We therefore need to further reflect on the practical implementation of such a tax before moving forward. 3. What could be the role of the revenue side of the EU budget ?  As demonstrated by my Colleague Pierre Moscovici, tax harmonisation can bring benefits to the EU citizen. This is the reason why the Commission proposed to re-launch the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base and also proposed [yesterday] a tax on digital services.  However, it is not always the case. For plastics, I have noted your doubts on a “one size fit all” approach.  We therefore need to carefully balance the advantages and disadvantages of a harmonised plastic tax across the EU and amend our proposal accordingly.  As mentioned earlier, I will make a proposal on 2 May and make sure that this reflects our concerns.