Well, and additionally, as I read in today's Daily Express (on the frontpage, besides the naked knee of Rachel Hunts):Brussels plans to raid wages, and thus Britons will be forced to pay a crippling European Union tax under a shock plan which was revealed yesterday. [Couldn't find anything more about it in other publications/media, though.]
Quote:NOW PAY YOUR TAX DIRECT TO EUROPE
How Brussels plans to raid wages BRITONS will be forced to pay a crippling European Union tax under a shock plan revealed yesterday.
By Macer Hall Political Editor
The swingeing levy - equivalent to 3.5p in the pound for every taxpayer - would go directly into EU coffers.
It was proposed by European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso and already has the backing of senior EU figures.
The move, which would effectively end centuries of British sovereignty and sideline the Westminster Parliament, was greeted with outrage on this side of the Channel.
There were warnings that it could spark a major revolt, with millions refusing to pay. Matthew Elliott, of campaign group Taxpayers' Alliance, spoke of "no taxation without representation".
He said: " If Brussels does seriously propose a new Euro tax, British taxpayers will have a modern Boston Tea Party and force the Government to leave the EU.
"This is one step too far. Tax policy should be decided by
?'This will cause a big tax revolt'
See page 2
From page 1
elected politicians, not faceless bureaucrats. We are not represented seriously in the European Parliament and the powerful European Commission is entirely unaccountable."
Mr Barroso wants the tax as an alternative to the bouts of wrangling over the EU's budget.
One option would see British taxpayers contributing directly into Brussels coffers through income tax every month.
They could see a separate entry for the EU payment alongside the usual Inland Revenue deduction on PAYE slips.
With Britain expected to pay around £10billion a year to Brussels in the next budget, it would cost around 3.5p in the pound for every taxpayer.
A more likely option is for the tax to be imposed as a fuel duty. Under current spending levels, that would add around 41p to the price of a litre of unleaded petrol. A litre would then cost around £1.30.
Brussels prefers a fuel tax because it can be promoted as a " green" anti-pollution measure.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: "No tax is popular but a tax from the EU would be doubly unpopular. In a week when the Government has given taxpayers' money away to Europe with their surrender over the EU Budget, the last thing British families need are yet more taxes."
Neil O'Brien, of Euro- sceptic campaign group Open Europe, said: " After Tony Blair crumbled on our rebate you can see why they think he will eventually give in on EU tax.
"The commission just keeps pressing and pressing these ideas until it gets its way. They never take no for an answer."
He added: "Polls show that most people want to pay less not more into the EU. Given that its own accountants haven't signed off its accounts because of fraud for 11 years, the priority has to be reform, not even more money."
Mr Barroso's plan was seen as a swipe at Tony Blair, who forged the latest £585billion budget during Britain's sixmonth presidency of the EU.
The agreement has been seen as a major disappointment in Brussels, with widespread complaints of a lack of cash to cover the cost of former Warsaw Pact countries joining Europe.
Mr Barroso said: "We have to find a way of avoiding such a direct link between national budgets and the European budget." To avoid the regular bouts of horse-trading over the EU budget, he and his supporters want to bypass governments and raise money directly from EU citizens.
His plan is backed by French foreign minister Nicolas Sarkozy - seen as a possible successor to President Jacques Chirac - and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel.
New German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also said to be taking an interest.
Mr Blair and Gordon Brown are against the plan, acknowledging the idea could never be sold to the British public.
A Downing Street spokesman said: " The Government has never been receptive to such plans."
Mr Barroso, a former Marxist activist turned economic reformer, took over as head of the European Commission last summer. His appointment was welcomed as a shift towards a more free-market European outlook in Brussels.
Foreign Office diplomats saw the former Portuguese prime minister as a friend of Britain who would back Tony Blair's desire for EU modernisation.
source: Daily Express, print version, pages 1, 2
And the Daily Express' comments reads like this:
Quote:Tax to Brussels plan must be quashed immediately
SO THE truth is finally out. There was a time when critics of the European Union were concerned that Brussels would try to obtain British taxpayers' money by stealth. As we now learn, there is no longer any fear of that.
No, the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is quite open about the EU's future plans. Britons should pay a European Union tax directly to Brussels, he says, without it having to go through the meddlesome British Government. The tax would be the equivalent of 3.5p in the pound and it also has the backing of a host of senior EU figures.
This proposal must be quashed immediately before it is too late. The Prime Minister is clearly incapable of looking after our interests when it comes to the EU - his capitulation over the British rebate proves that - but even he and his lickspittle Government must stand up for their country over this.
Paying a federal tax to Brussels would not only end British sovereignty and sideline the British Parliament - it would also give the EU bureaucrats a charter to fritter away your money. And make no mistake, whatever tax was first levied would rocket shortly afterwards, only to be thrown away with all the other billions of pounds of European waste.
We are already saddled with a tax-andspend Government. The very last thing we need is an even closer alliance to a tax-and- squander Europe.
Daily Express, page 12.
