Are Payments To and From EU Lawful? A Follow-UP
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New information, following my first letter to the Court of Auditors, has prompted a second letter to the president of the European Union’s Court of Auditors, this time with copies to the two Commissioners responsible for the EU�s Budget.and a copy to Alistair Darling, the UK�s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
V�tor Manuel da SILVA CALDEIRA,
president, Court of Auditors,
Luxembourg
November 2008
Sir
I write further to my letter of 19 September about the legality of payments from and to statutory organisations which have had their accounts qualified. I asked whether - in those circumstances - any paying authority might be open to the charge of negligence and/or malfeasance.
Since that letter I have had my attention drawn to a ruling of the European Court of Justice when Italy attempted to impose a turnover tax. The ECJ upheld a challenge on the grounds that the treaties permitted VAT only. The treaties were found not even to permit such an additional tax by derogation.
Does this not indicate that any tax raised by an institution under EU law, and which can be held to be unlawful, is legally uncollectible? Certainly that would appear to be the case in the UK.
Across the EU as a whole, if institutions are held to be acting unlawfully - as my first letter argued - then the earlier ECJ ruling clearly indicates that they are not covered by the treaties. Therefore the collection and distribution of VAT is itself unlawful.
This is clearly an issue of substance and one of great importance. The consequential implications are obvious.
The facts that have now come to light bring into question the EU’s authority to empower member states to raise any tax revenues, whether VAT, customs duties or anything else. They also reinforce my contention that it subsequently has no authority to receive and then distribute such public monies
In view of these new considerations, I am additionally copying Mr Kallas, Mrs Grybauskaite and the chairman of the Budget Control Committee.
I await your reply to both my letters with great interest.
Ashley Mote MEP
Independent, South-East England
To respond to, or comment on this Email, please email ashley.mote@btconnect.com
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