NOEUTAX.EU is an EU-wide initiative that was launched in February 9 during a public hearing in the European Parliament and aims to collect 1 million signatures under the ‘European Citizen’s Initiative’ instrument.
To make European taxpayers' voices heard, the Taxpayers' Association of Europe, which represents 1 million European taxpayers, aims to unite European taxpayers against any plans for taxation at the EU level. The tool will be a European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI). Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, this new instrument enables EU citizens to ask the European Commission to propose a new law or abandon plans for a new law if a minimum of 1 million European citizens from seven EU countries sign up to the initiative.
Representatives from Belgian, British, German, Dutch and Swedish taxpayers associations demonstrated their support during the public hearing supported by New Direction – The Foundation For European Reform* aim to have one million signatures by the end of the year 2012 in order to block the Commission’s proposal.
Geoffrey Van Orden, British Conservative MEP and President of New Direction said: "I strongly oppose any move towards common taxation at the EU level and warmly welcome the NOEUTAX initiative. A move towards EU tax would mean a move towards a federal Europe - something which I have fought against and will continue to fight against" and Kristof Van der Cruysse president of the Flemish-Dutch Taxpayers Association added: “If we succeed, the European Commission is obliged to listen to us, moreover we would be able to demonstrate an unmistakable lack of public support towards EU policy makers.”
“Before asking those on the 'spending side' of the EU budget, we should ask those on the 'paying side.' That is why European taxpayers are getting organised and will speak out,” said Secretary General of Taxpayers' Association of Europe, Michael Jaeger, “the EU should efficiently spend the money that is already at its disposal rather than look for new ways to increase taxation. We do not need more revenues but more efficiency in spending the present EU budget.”
Derk Jan Eppink (Belgian MEP and vice-president of New Direction – The Foundation for European Reform) prepared the ground for the initiative for the ECI against EU tax in his book ‘Bonfire of the Bureaucracy in Europe – Plea for a United Europe of States’ ** “Taxpayers’ money is increasingly being used by the EU for unprecedented purposes: from bailing out companies to bailing out countries. Additional expenditure is followed by calls to increase the EU budget. One of the proposed mechanisms for financing a larger budget would be through the levying of an EU tax.”
Eppink continued: “I am against it because it will offer the EU bureaucracy fiscal autonomy and allow to feed itself, it will generate a spending spree beyond control. Since the European Parliament does not protect EU citizens against profligacy. The system of national contributions to the EU is preferable.”
Currently ‘own resources’ finance already 25% of the EU budget and 75% comes from member states. The Commission is suggesting a deal: member states donate less and in return ‘Brussels’ gets financial autonomy and collects money through EU taxation directly from citizens.
*New Direction - The Foundation for European Reform is a free market think-tank established in Brussels in 2010 to add innovative ideas and encourage reform efforts in Europe.
www.newdirectionfoundation.org
**Derk-Jan Eppink: Bonfire of Bureaucracy in Europe (Lannoo NV, Tielt Belgium – ISBN 978 90 209 9093 5)
www.lannoo.com
