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雅典/柏林——整个欧洲联盟及世界各国政府都面临着一种类似于“第二十二条军规”这样进退两难的境地:他们背负着巨大的国家债务负担,必须要通过削减开支和增加税收的方式来减少财政赤字,但是这又会抑制推动经济活动和促进经济强劲增长所需的消费支出。随着辩论的焦点从通货紧缩转至旨在刺激经济增长的措施上,实行更明智的税收政策对于维持当前经济的适度平衡至关重要。
在应对增加税收的艰巨任务时,政府通常考虑的是所得税、营业税和增值税。但也有其他税收,即政府已经对电力和化石燃料征收的税收,这种方式在大量增加财政收入的同时,不会对经济产生过多的负面影响。
这种税收在削减导致气候变化的碳排放方面发挥着至关重要的作用。但最近的研究表明,它们还可以在提高政府收入方面发挥有益的作用——以低成本方式促进经济增长。
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