Monday, 25 May 2015 - 12:17
Netherlands first & only to pay off extra Europe tax
The Netherlands is the first and only country to pay the additional tax owed to the European Union, reports Telegraaf. Other states that have to pay extra, according to newer calculations, are Bulgaria, France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia and United Kingdom.
They have until September 1 to meet their obligations.
Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem decided last year to pay the additional tax directly, after the country's official statistics institute supported the revised figures that said the country owed the EU an additional 642 million.
Some political forces took the decision to repay immediately more critically. Pieter Omzigt, an opposition CDA MP, called it "brainless" that the government had already paid the amount without taking the time to negotiate the additional tax. He is also saying that the Parliament cannot adequately control the calculations, since the government is not sharing information about its diplomatic relations with the EC.
"We know nothing about the negotiations," Omzigt said, "The government does not want to inform the Parliament. So we cannot perform the audit task."
Meanwhile, there is an additional retrospective revaluation of the tax owed to EU by the Netherlands. The economy grew more in 2011 and 2012 than previously evaluated, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). It is now possible that the country will have to pay another 200 million euros in contribution to the European Union.