• Visitors can check out the Forum FAQ by clicking this link. You have to register before you can post: click the REGISTER link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. View our Forum Privacy Policy.
  • Want to receive the latest contracting news and advice straight to your inbox? Sign up to the ContractorUK newsletter here. Every sign up will also be entered into a draw to WIN £100 Amazon vouchers!

UK told to pay £1.7bn extra to EU

Collapse
X
  •  
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    UK told to pay £1.7bn extra to EU

    Pay up, successful amongst us must be taxed more. Although I don't really believe the growth figures since tax receipts in the UK are actually down despite the reduced un-employment figures.

    BBC News - UK told to pay £1.7bn extra to EU


    The government source said: "It's not acceptable to just change the fees for previous years and demand them back at a moment's notice.
    Why not? That's what happens to individuals currently in the UK tax system.

    UK told to pay £1.7bn extra to EU

    24 October 2014 Last updated at 06:45 GMT
    David Cameron in BrusselsDavid Cameron is currently in Brussels meeting with other European leaders
    The UK has been told it must pay an extra £1.7bn (2.1bn euros) towards the European Union's budget because the economy has performed better than expected in recent years.

    The payment follows new calculations by the EU, which determines how much each member state should contribute based on gross national incomes.

    It would add about a fifth to the UK's annual net contribution of £8.6bn.

    A government source said the budget demand was "not acceptable".

    “Start Quote
    This is outrageous and harms the EU's relationship with Britain”
    Syed Kamall Leader of Conservative MEPs
    It comes at a time of increased pressure on David Cameron over Europe.

    The recent success of the euro-sceptic UK Independence Party in by-elections has prompted renewed calls for the prime minister to renegotiate the terms of the UK's relationship with Europe.

    The BBC's political correspondent Ben Wright in Brussels says the demand for more cash has infuriated the government and will rile many backbench Tory MPs.

    Mr Cameron is currently meeting other EU leaders for a summit in Brussels.

    The government source said: "It's not acceptable to just change the fees for previous years and demand them back at a moment's notice.

    "The European Commission was not expecting this money and does not need this money and we will work with other countries similarly affected to do all we can to challenge this."

    'Harms EU relationship'
    The additional payment was requested after the European Commission's statistics agency, Eurostat, reviewed the economic performances of member states since 1995, and readjusted the contributions made by each state over the last four years - based on their pace of growth.

    Under the new calculations, the UK and the Netherlands are both being asked to pay more, while France and Germany are both set to receive rebates.

    The additional payment is due on 1 December.

    Mr Cameron is meeting his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, to discuss how they might challenge the surcharges.

    Patrizio Fiorilli, a European Commission spokesman, said the additional request for funds "reflects an increase in wealth".

    "Just as in Britain you pay more to the Inland Revenue if your earnings go up," he said.

    Mark Rutte (l) and David Cameron at the Nato summit near NewportDavid Cameron and Mark Rutte, pictured at last month's Nato summit, are discussing the matter
    But the leader of the Conservative MEPs, Syed Kamall, said the UK was being penalised for its austerity measures.

    "The European Commission is penalising Britain for taking tough decisions, putting in place a long-term economic plan and for having the most successful economy in the EU, while actually rewarding France for being an economic basket case," he said.

    "David Cameron is absolutely right to stand up to this attempted daylight robbery by the EU.

    "This is outrageous and harms the EU's relationship with Britain. At times like this, the European Commission can be its own worst enemy."

    UKIP budget spokesman Jonathan Arnott, a member of the budget committee in the European Parliament, said it was "astonishing" for the EU to demand the payment.

    He told Radio 4's Today programme it "puts the British government in a very difficult position".

    While Mr Cameron is "likely to try to negotiate", the most he can hope to achieve is a "Pyrrhic victory", added Mr Arnott.
    "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

    #2
    You're right that this is not something the government (regardless of ruling party) can complain about without hypocrisy but it should engender more ill will towards the EU, which won't be getting any sympathy from me.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by scooterscot View Post
      Pay up, successful amongst us must be taxed more. Although I don't really believe the growth figures since tax receipts in the UK are actually down despite the reduced un-employment figures.

      BBC News - UK told to pay £1.7bn extra to EU

      Why not? That's what happens to individuals currently in the UK tax system.

      And Germany is getting a rebate because of the fall in its economy. It's an absolute farce. It depends on how the statistics are manipulated. The only upturn in the UK economy is with the banks selling government bonds to other banks and institutions that they bought with tax payers money an almost 0% interest loans.
      "A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims, but accomplices," George Orwell

      Comment


        #4
        I was reading about this in the Telegraph this morning. It seems the Dutch are also being asked to cough up £500m. Part of the rationale seemed to be the inclusion of drugs and prostitution in the recent GDP figures, here it is:

        Originally posted by telegraph article
        The payment, described by officials as a "surcharge" follows a change to the way the EU calculates gross national income to include previous hidden service industries including such [sic] prostitution and illegal drugs
        So, who's been doing all the coke and hookers? And are we really doing three times as many as the Dutch?

        Comment


          #5
          Just listening to John Redwood on Radio 4 saying how unfair it is for a retrospective tax change to be forced into the UK Government, maybe we can come up with a pithy slogan for this, maybe No To Retrospective Tax or NTRT
          Originally posted by Stevie Wonder Boy
          I can't see any way to do it can you please advise?

          I want my account deleted and all of my information removed, I want to invoke my right to be forgotten.

          Comment


            #6
            I'm sure the NHS could do with this money, more than the EU
            In Scooter we trust

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by The Spartan View Post
              I'm sure the NHS could do with this money, more than the EU
              Christmas has come early

              We in Germany need a rebate. Skiing season is upon us, it's not cheap you know. Pay up.
              "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by scooterscot View Post
                Christmas has come early

                We in Germany need a rebate. Skiing season is upon us, it's not cheap you know. Pay up.
                I love it when you use the term "We" it was the same in all the threads for the Scottish referendum, Scooter there is no we you live in your own little world
                In Scooter we trust

                Comment


                  #9
                  “I want my money back” Margaret Thatcher - 1979

                  Just don't give it to the Swine, this time, Mr Cameron?
                  I was an IPSE Consultative Council Member, until the BoD abolished it. I am not an IPSE Member, since they have no longer have any relevance to me, as an IT Contractor. Read my lips...I recommend QDOS for ALL your Insurance requirements (Contact me for a referral code).

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Perhaps they should give it to the French, they actually do need the money
                    In Scooter we trust

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X