<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This paper tries to answer the question of whether universal basic income on the European level is a realistic option or an illusion. As UBI implies a much larger EU budget and a redistribution of collected budget revenues, the chance of introducing UBI depends on the required redistribution – the larger the redistribution, the lower the chance. The chance is indirectly assessed by an exercise in which 50 percent of actual tax revenues generated by indirect taxes of member states is collected at the center and distributed equally to all citizens. Though the net costs to the rich are relatively modest, the results indicate that the idea of introducing UBI on the European level is an illusion.</p></abstract>

This paper tries to answer the question of whether universal basic income on the European level is a realistic option or an illusion. As UBI implies a much larger EU budget and a redistribution of collected budget revenues, the chance of introducing UBI depends on the required redistribution – the larger the redistribution, the lower the chance. The chance is indirectly assessed by an exercise in which 50 percent of actual tax revenues generated by indirect taxes of member states is collected at the center and distributed equally to all citizens. Though the net costs to the rich are relatively modest, the results indicate that the idea of introducing UBI on the European level is an illusion.

The Revenue Side of a Universal Basic Income in the EU and Euro Area

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, Poljanski nasip 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, and EIPF, Prešernova cesta 21, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

DANUBE

This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.

{"article-title":"The Revenue Side of a Universal Basic Income in the EU and Euro Area"}

This paper tries to answer the question of whether universal basic income on the European level is a realistic option or an illusion. As UBI implies a much...

The Revenue Side of a Universal Basic Income in the EU and Euro Area

Published Online: Oct 20, 2015

Page range: 159 - 174

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/danb-2015-0010

Keywords
Universal Basic Income, Fiscal Union, Indirect Taxes, Income Distribution

© 2015 Jože Mencinger, published by De Gruyter Open

This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.

The Revenue Side of a Universal Basic Income in the EU and Euro Area

Published Online: Oct 20, 2015

Page range: 159 - 174

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/danb-2015-0010

KeywordsUniversal Basic Income, Fiscal Union, Indirect Taxes, Income Distribution

© 2015 Jože Mencinger, published by De Gruyter Open

This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.

Keywords
Universal Basic Income, Fiscal Union, Indirect Taxes, Income Distribution