They just can't get enough of our money: Fresh EU cash grab on VAT
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...UK-budget.html
They just can't get enough of our money: Fresh EU cash grab 'will force Treasury to raise VAT'
- Brussels wants to raise take from VAT income, which could force a 1 per cent rise
- Treasury already pays twice as much as France to the EU budget
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mail
British consumers face a fresh VAT hike as EU chiefs are planning a tax grab to fund their pet projects. At the moment 0.3 per cent of VAT in every pound spent goes directly towards EU funding. But Brussels politicians are planning to raise the levy to 1.3 per cent - and the cost will almost certainly be passed on to consumers if the plans are approved.
The increased tax could be absorbed by the Treasury, although with the Government imposing fierce cuts in spending they would likely be forced to ramp up VAT from 20 to 21 per cent. The European Commission's seven-year budget proposals from 2014 include controversial moves to step up Brussels' direct revenue-raising powers, through a new EU levy on European banks - a 'Financial Transactions Tax' - and by increasing the EU 'take' from national VAT income.
As the EU budget proposals were being finalised at Commission headquarters last month, Eurocrats suggested that the extra 1 per cent VAT 'take' for Brussels should be itemised separately, to make the public aware of their direct contribution to running the EU. According to insiders, Britain's EU Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton, raised objections and the idea was dropped. The proposals are already estimated by the Treasury to amount to a 'completely unrealistic' extra 11 per cent - or £1.4billion a year - on the British net contribution.
Not only all that, but now the EU is attempting to remove Britain's rebate secured by Mrs Thatcher at same time..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mail
The other battleground in the coming months of budget bartering between the Commission, the European Parliament and EU government ministers is the British rebate, which has knocked billions of pounds off the UK's EU bills for more than 25 years. It currently saves the country more than £3billion a year and, as negotiated by Mrs Thatcher in 1984, is a permanent part of the EU budget system.
The Commission says the rebate is no longer necessary, but UK officials say the justification remains - UK payments to the EU kitty are disproportionately high, with the Treasury paying twice as much to the EU budget as France, and one and a half times as much as Germany. Now the Commission wants to offer the UK a lump sum to end the current agreement and make any future rebate re-negotiable at each budget review. The UK would temporarily get even more back than it does now - but face an uphill struggle to get anything back at all in future EU spending review rounds.
The costs of this are enormous and just keep rising, I just hope that some of you will be wide enough awake by now to put an end to this in 2014 with the European Elections and in 2015 in the General. But with anyluck, as the Euro teeters on the edge of complete destruction with the sovereign debt crisis - the EU *hopefully* will be consigned to the dustbin of history. A recent poll came out which stated that only one third of the British people think the EU membership of Britain has been positive for this country.. it does seem that people are finally waking up.. lets not lose momentum.
Thoughts, should the United Kingdom leave the EU?
