A disgrace from Reich Television Europe.
Reservations about the growing power of the EU are not just restricted to the Irish, French or Dutch peoples. Former President of Germany has had this to say about the EU:
“People have an ever-increasing feeling that something is going wrong; that an untransparent, complex, mammoth institution has evolved: divorced from practical problems and national traditions; grabbing ever greater competences and areas of power; that the democratic control mechanisms are failing – in brief, that it cannot go on like this.”
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The people of Ireland are a proud people and a free people, who have paid in blood for their liberty. They should vote No on Thursday, not to reject the EU, but rather to secure an EU that is more, rather than less democratic.
May God bless Ireland.
“People have an ever-increasing feeling that something is going wrong; that an untransparent, complex, mammoth institution has evolved: divorced from practical problems and national traditions; grabbing ever greater competences and areas of power; that the democratic control mechanisms are failing – in brief, that it cannot go on like this.”
-- Roman Herzog, former President of Germany
By Tom McEnaney Business Editor
Saturday June 07 2008
Harmonisation of business taxes will be the number one priority of the French Presidency of the European Commission, which begins next month, officials from the French Department of Finance told business leaders.
A meeting of Medef, the largest French business lobby group, was told that Nicolas Sarkozy's government plans to bring forward concrete measures aimed at harmonising the European corporate tax base and, by extension, all tax rates, as early as September.
This would seem to undermine assurances given by Jose Barosso, the president of the European Commission, on a visit to Ireland last April when he said that Ireland's tax rates would not be threatened.
There is also evidence that the European Commission may be deliberately hiding plans to harmonise corporate tax rates until after Ireland goes to the polls on the Lisbon Treaty.
The Commission has consistently said plans to harmonise rates, by bringing in a common tax base for corporate taxes, are not very well advanced and will not threaten Ireland's low corporate tax regime, which is one of our key advantages in attracting inward investment.
The plans will not be affected by the Lisbon Treaty, which, if passed, will allow us retain our veto on tax matters.
This has not prevented European tax harmonisation becoming one of the principal themes of the campaign.
In particular it has been used by 'No' campaigners who have attempted to link the two issues, although many groups, including Irish business lobby groups, have stressed the two are unrelated.
The Irish Independent has seen copies of the agenda prepared for the July 2 meeting of the European Commission's 'Competitiveness Council'. It shows the plans have now developed to the point that Laszlo Kovacs, the EU Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, and the main driver of the tax harmonisation plans, was due to give a presentation on the subject to the Council.
A Commission spokesman confirmed that the item has been removed from the latest edition of the agenda. One source said it was specifically taken off because of sensitivities over the Irish poll on the treaty.
A spokesman for the Irish Government said: "If the Commission decides to bring forward a proposal to Council, then we will study it.
Oppose
"The Government has made it crystal clear that corporation tax is an area of national competence and sovereignty and we will, working together with many other like-minded member states, vigorously oppose any proposal that seeks to change that."
A spokesman for Mr Barroso played down the role of the Commission in bringing forward the tax harmonisation plans.
"At the request of the member states the Commission is analysing the tax [harmonisation] issue. At this point there has been no conclusion to that analysis and there will be no decision any time soon." continued in next post..............
concerned_observer | 06.
".....Turlough O"Sullivan, director general of business lobby group IBEC, said: "I am absolutely convinced this is a Trojan horse to bring in common tax rates."
Ireland can veto the proposals, whether or not the Lisbon Treaty is passed by next Thursday's referendum. However, this would not stop some countries using the "enhanced cooperation" mechanism of the EU to club together to harmonise their own tax bases.
Critics of the plan say Ireland would be then be pressurised to join this group.
- Tom McEnaney Business Editor
www.independent.ie
Saturday June 07 2008
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