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thomas davison

New EU tax set to hammer pensions
THE value of UK savings and pensions could be cut by up to 20 per cent by an EU tax on financial deals.
By: Alison Little
Published: Fri, February 15, 2013
ONCE MORE THE EU TRIES TO MILK THE BRITISH PUBLIC.

If-applied-in-all-27-EU-states-the-tax-could-cut-the-value-of-a-pension-by-up-to-20-per-cent If applied in all 27 EU states, the tax could cut the value of a pension by up to 20 per cent

The EU Commission says the new levy would raise �30billion a year. But it would have a �devastating impact on British savers, economists warned last night. They said someone paying into a pension plan for 30 years could lose the equivalent of six years� contributions.

The Commission has pressed ahead with its controversial Financial Transaction Tax even though just 11 out of 27 EU members � including the UK � want to adopt the levy on all dealings in stocks, bonds and other investments.

Pension funds and other investors in non-FTT countries will be face millions in extra costs when they deal with participating countries and their stocks and bonds wherever the trades take place.

The rules are designed to stop business switching from mainland Europe to centres such as London.

Jorge Morley-Smith, head of tax at the Investment Management Association, said: �This is a tax on savers and investors.�

Supporters of the tax say it will make the finance sector repay something to the countries that had to plough billions into rescuing banks and are now facing the global downturn. But Mr Morley-Smith said: �It is all very well to propose a tax on the financial services industry that bears blame for the financial crisis.

�But this way you are imposing a tax on people who benefit from financial transactions as opposed to those who undertake them.�

If applied in all 27 EU states, the tax could cut the value of a pension by up to 20 per cent by �eroding up to six out of every 30 years� worth of contributions to an actively managed retirement savings plan,� said Mr Morley-Smith.

It was impossible to put a figure on the impact of a tax introduced in just 11 countries, he said, but the cost to the UK �could be in the millions�.

PensionersPension funds and other investors in non-FTT countries will be face millions in extra costs

But this way you are imposing a tax on people who benefit from financial transactions as opposed to those who undertake them.

Jorge Morley-Smith, head of tax at the Investment Management Association

The proposed levies, ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 per cent of the value of the deal, are understood to be a minimum, so there could be even higher rates.

The tax would catch a deal between traders in the UK and the US involving bonds from an FTT country, although there are doubts over enforcement.

Professor David Blake, director of the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School, said: �I am amazed they think they can get away with a tax on savings and pension plans.�

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said: �This tax will force banks to relocate outside the FTT zone.�

Britain and other non-participants will be part of talks on the details of the new tax but will not have a vote.

The UK does not oppose the tax in principle but is against introducing it only for Europe on the grounds that unless the new system is global it will drive trade away from the region.

EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said that the new tax was �unquestionably fair� and would �temper �irresponsible trading�.

He claimed the cost for pension funds would be �extremely limited� if they had low share

Not only are the EUSSR bureaucrats vain and greedy, they are obviously terminally stupid as well. All this will achieve is to force many banking and financial service providers to move out of the EU altogether, and re-locate their businesses offshore in New York,, London, Zurich, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. With any luck, these financial institutions will then refuse to have any dealings whatsoever with any EUSSR-based organisation, and effectively starve them of funds. If only. Cameron's devotion to the obscenely corrupt and fraudulent EUSSR is incomprehensible - apparently he (and they) will be satisfied with nothing less than the complete destruction of the UK as an independent, self-sufficient country.

QUESTION: Apart from millions of immigrants WHAT DO WE GET OUT OF THE EU?

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