Red lines multiply - but Britain is losing the right to tax

 

If ministers were really serious about tax and other" red line"' issues there would have to be an entirely different constitutional text.

 

The Government has suddenly discovered so many " red line issues" to defend in the on-going negotiations on the European Constitution that according to rumour there is to be a special budget item to cover the bulk purchase of felt -tip pens.  Ministers are wielding these furiously as they pore over the text that presented no problems back in December when its early ratification was said to be in Britain's interests in an enlarged EU.

 

Speaking on the Today programme on the 18th June 2003, however, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, wielding several red pens in both hands, said that he was "not going to apologise" for the fact that he was now "batting for Britain."

 

Who asked him to apologise?

 

Referendum matters

 

According to Mr Straw the red line issues about over which Britain is now said to be fighting were not pursued with the same vigour in December because the negotiations were in any case collapsing as a result of Polish and Spanish objections to the proposals on voting rights.  To put it mildly, this is disingenuous.  For it was not clear until the last minute that the talks  - with which Britain had expressed broad satisfaction  - would fail.

 

Why then is he 'batting' so unapologetically for Britain now?

 

Well it's the referendum, of course.  A No vote would break the back of any government that sought to win public support for a constitutional treaty - and failed. So in order to win the vote the impression must now be given that Labour ministers are fighting desperately over the red line issues - and winning.

 

The problem is of course, as Lord Howell pointed out in a debate in the House of Lords on 11th May, that if the Government is serious about its red lines - which seem to multiply rather in the manner of Falstaff's adversaries on Gadshill - there will have to be a completely different text.

 

In Lord Howell's words:

 

" That is what we really want to know:  will they really do these things or is this just talk?

 

 The reason that we are entitled to be a little cynical about all those promises is that if even half those undertakings are to be achieved, that will require quite a different treaty from the one in draft...."

 

Tax Advantage

 

Consider briefly the issue of tax.  The reddest of red lines has been drawn around tax: Gordon Brown would apparently sooner die than add or subtract a penny on tax to please Brussels.  In the White Paper of September 2003

-the government stated:

 

Article III-63 of the Constitution, however, allows the European Council to act by QMV to avoid the 'distortion' of competition.  This would allow the Commission to introduce legislation to reduce any tax advantage arising from the UK tax system.

 

But even without the constitution Britain's freedom to tax as it wishes has been eroded.

 

The European Court has already taken unto itself to judge the effect of company taxation and to rule accordingly.  EU Commissioners maintain that Britain's zero-Vat on kiddies' clothing is illegal.  The French, German and Swedish governments are threatening the Baltic States with all kinds of penalties for "tax-dumping".

 

Britain can expect to be in line for punishment by virtue of its similarly relatively low taxes.

 

Common Measures

 

Meanwhile according to AFP on 13th May, Germany and France are to be about to unveil a plan to harmonise corporate tax by formal means.

 

And in an interview with Le Figaro the French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarzkosy (widely seen as the successor to Chirac)

has said that France and Germany and the UK are ready to include" common measures" in their national budgets.

According to M. Sarkozy these will include measures:

 

" to arrange together how our tax systems operate"

as well as other measures of macro-economic harmonisation.

 

The picture is a, complicated one, but the trend is clear: Britain is steadily losing (even now) losing the right to tax.  Once the European Constitution is in place this process will proceed at a faster pace, but it is happening anyway. The sorry truth is that a parallel process can also be observed in every other policy area.

EUROFACTS

 

VOL 9 NO 16   (28^th May 2004)

 

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Daniel Hannan - Forming an OPPOSITION to the EU

www.telegraph.co.uk.blogs

 

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VOTE

MAY -2007

 

TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION

WITH THE ONLY PARTY WITH A MANDATE

TO SET YOU

 FREE

 

THE

UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY

http://www.ukip.org.uk

 

TO RECLAIM YOUR DEMOCRACY DON'T VOTE FOR THE TRIPARTITE PARTIES IN WESTMINSTER

BUT

SMALL PARTIES THAT SPEAK THEIR MINDS WITHOUT SPIN AND LIES.

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ONLY

PRO-PORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

WILL BRING DEMOCRACY BACK TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE

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Home Rule for Scotland

WHY NOT

HOME RULE for ENGLAND

 

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MAY/07

 

[All underlined words have a separate bulletin

THE QUESTION THAT THE VOTER MUST ANSWER

 

‘DO YOU WISH TO BE GOVERNED BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE, LAW AND CUSTOM OR BY THE CORRUPT ,EXPENSIVE UNACCOUNTABLE AND ALIEN BUSYBODY BRUSSELS’

 

-SIMPLE IS IT NOT?