Unprecedented: the European Central Bank (ECB) has left its mandate defined by Article 127 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (formerly the Maastricht Treaty), namely to maintain price stability, to set itself up as a tax conductor. Through its chief economist, Philip Lane, the Frankfurt institution said that “governments should support the incomes and consumption of households and businesses that suffer the most [de la crise énergétique et de l’inflation, ndlr] […] Part of this support must be financed by tax increases for the better off. This might take the form of higher taxes on high earners or on industries and businesses that are highly profitable despite the energy shock.”
