EU taxes spell disaster for British business

British business will be the hardest hit, if tax proposals announced by the new President of the EU are implemented, UKIP said today.

[UKPRwire, Thu Jan 19 2006] The Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, who assumed the Presidency this month, today said that Europe should be self funding in a speech to the European Parliament. Chancellor Schüssel's proposals follow the disturbing calls last week of EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia* for harmonised taxation throughout Europe.

Former City trader and UKIP MEP Nigel Farage said: "This would be disastrous for the City of London, and our financial services industry, which is Britain's biggest business. Direct EU taxes is a massive step towards a united states of Europe."

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS:

*Direct quote from Commissioner for Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia

"The Commissioner said that such a fiscal instrument, which he preffered to call a "community resource" rather than a "community tax" would have to conceal the origin of the money collected from the individual members states, to avoid the constant fighting over net and gross cash balance".