ECONOMY

Eurozone’s Dijsselbloem says taxes on labor too high

The chairman of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday the eurozone must “jointly reform” and added that high taxes on labor are an obstacle to growth.

Speaking in Berlin, Dijsselbloem said that national tax cuts should be coordinated across Europe.

“The tax wedge on labor in the eurozone is high, probably too high,” he said. “In almost all eurozone countries we have a tax wedge that is higher than the OECD average.”

Dijsselbloem added: “The key issue at the moment is simply the return of jobs. The real thing in life that people still feel, such as in Portugal, is massive unemployment. So people ask, will this be jobless growth?” [Reuters]

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