There is no comparable offset in Europe, where taxes are almost exclusively paid to, and transfers received from, national governments. The EU’s Maastricht Treaty specifically reserves this tax-and-transfer authority to the member states, a reflection of Europeans’ unwillingness to transfer funds to other countries’ people in the way that Americans are willing to do among people in different states.
而欧洲则不存在类似的抵消行为，因为纳税人上缴的税款（以及接受的转移支付）基本上全部针对各国政府。欧盟《马斯特里赫特条约》特别保留了成员国收税以及进行转移支付的权力，而这也反映出欧洲各国并不愿像美国各州那样互相进行转移支付。