Stats support EU's €642m add'l tax on Netherlands

According to Peter-Hein van Mulligen, chief economist of Statistics Netherlands, the figures underlying the additional tax the Netherlands received from the European Union last week, are correct. Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) and Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem (PvdA) were unpleasantly surprised by the additional tax of 642 million euro, on top of the 6.1 billion euro already paid annually to Europe. "Our figures are absolutely correct. "We will discuss it with Eurostat, because they will check our numbers as thoroughly as the do that of any other country" says Van Mulligen. Dijjselbloem said earlier that if the facts and figures are correct, we will pay as usual. With that he takes a different standpoint than Great Britain. British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that his country does not want to pay the additional tax. Britain received the highest additional tax, amounting to more than 2 billion euro.