John Baron MP signs Budget amendments to stop unwanted EU tax rises

MP highlights EU taxes on tampons and energy-saving measures

Thanks to the EU, the Government must, against its will, maintain VAT on tampons and raise VAT on energy-saving products such as insulation. This is because the EU judges tampons and other sanitary products to be ‘luxury items’, and because the European Court ruled last summer that the lower UK VAT rate of 5% on energy-saving products is illegal.

John Baron MP has signed amendments to the Budget motions calling on the Government to allow further debate on these EU VAT measures, as have a large number of other MPs from all parties [please see ‘Notes to Editors’ below for further details]. If selected, the amendments will be voted on at the conclusion of the Budget debate tomorrow [22nd March].

John said,

“British women should not have to pay EU-imposed VAT on tampons – these are not luxury items whatever the EU says. It is also wrong for the EU to increase VAT on energy-saving measures, such as insulation.”

“These are just two examples of unwanted taxes which the Government is powerless to stop as a member of the EU. In order to take back control, I believe we must vote to leave in the referendum on 23rd June.”

“Meanwhile, I hope the Government will take notice of our amendments, and look forward to raising these issues in the forthcoming Finance Bill.”

Notes to Editors:

• The amendments, together with a list of signatories, is available online at: http://goo.gl/9wrbMY (p. 6).
• In 2012, John led the Parliamentary campaign to get the Prime Minister to legislate in that Parliament for a referendum in this. He organised two letters to the Prime Minister, signed by 100 Conservative MPs, calling for referendum legislation to be placed on the Statute Book in the last Parliament for an in/out referendum in this Parliament. This helped persuade David Cameron to promise an in/out vote in his Bloomberg Speech in January 2013.
• John then tabled an amendment to the Queen’s Speech in May 2013, regretting the absence of referendum legislation in the Government’s agenda.
• Though the amendment was defeated, it was supported by 115 Conservative MPs. This persuaded the Prime Minister to go down the Private Member’s Bill route and, when this was twice defeated by Labour and Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians, to place it at the centre of the 2015 Conservative manifesto at the General Election.