During the 2020 State of the Union address last week, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission touched on taxation measures, specifically the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Digital Tax. The President outlined that “carbon must have its price – because nature cannot pay the price anymore.”

During her speech, the President also outlined that “this Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism should motivate foreign producers and EU importers to reduce their carbon emissions, while ensuring that we level the playing field in a WTO-compatible way.”

When speaking about digital tax, the President outlined that “we will spare no effort to reach agreement in the framework of OECD and G20. But let there be no doubt: should an agreement fall short of a fair tax system that provides long-term sustainable revenues, Europe will come forward with a proposal early next year.”

The full speech is available on the European Commission website.