THE EU’S BUDGET COMMISSIONER has said he thinks the attitude of member states might have softened on the idea of introducing a direct EU tax.

Janusz Lewandowski, of Poland, told the German edition of the Financial Times that he felt member states who were suffering with budget difficulties of their own would welcome the idea of unloading their payments to the EU’s central coffers, with Brussels introducing a new direct tax to make up for it.

“Many countries want to be unburdened. In this way, the door has been opened to think about revenues that are not claimed by finance ministers,” he said.

If the tax was to be introduced, the Irish government would save about €1.5bn a year, as it would no longer have to pay to fund the EU on its citizens’ behalves – but would see Irish taxpayers potentially hit with a greater tax burden, with the economically crippled government likely not to cut its own PAYE rates accordingly.

Lewandowski said he had heard from several EU capitals, including Berlin, that member states would welcome the chance to reduce their own individual contributions to the Union’s finances. The German finance ministry has said it is against such proposals, however.

In what could prove to be another double-whammy for Irish consumers, one of the other aspects of funding being examined by Lewandowski is a potential aviation tax – on top of the €10 tax already levied by the Irish government.

The EU Observer reports that negotiations on such a tax could begin in early 2012 under the Danish presidency, when the EU begins discussions on its next seven-year budget. The current budget runs from 2007-2013.

With national governments already feeling the pinch from their own various austerity measures, the chances of a centralised tax reducing budgetary constraints on individual governments could be a realistic prospect.

The next EU Budget would likely be signed off on under the Irish presidency in the first half of 2013.