G20 stresses recovery challenges

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The meeting set the agenda for a summit later this month

G20 finance ministers have said the recovery from the global economic crisis has been faster than expected, but significant challenges remain.

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Economic power grab by EU: Plan to control Britain’s economy as Europe bails out Greece

By
Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 11:46 AM on 26th March 2010

European leaders have launched an audacious bid to create an
‘economic government of the EU’ - even as they were forced to go cap in
hand to the International Monetary Fund for a £20 billion bailout of
debt-stricken Greece.
In an extraordinary joint statement the EU’s two powerhouses France
and Germany called for the EU to be handed sweeping powers over
economic policy.
They called for ’strong co-ordination of economic policies’ across
the EU - including countries like Britain which are not in the euro.
Gordon Brown chats with Nicolas Sarkozy and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor prior to the second working session of the European heads of state Summit in Brussels today
And they suggested the creation of an ‘economic government of the
EU’ headed by Herman Van Rompuy, the obscure Belgian federalist who was
plucked from obscurity last year to become the EU’s first president.
Under the Franco-German plans Britain would still have a seat at the
table setting economic policy, but would be one of only 27 voices.
It could eventually mean the end for Britain’s jealously guarded powers to set its own tax and spending plans.
The document says Mr Van Rompuy will head a ‘task force’ from the
member states and the European Central Bank, looking at looking at ‘all
options’ to achieve the legal framework for economic government - which
could mean EU treaty changes.
If the idea gains momentum, the treaty changes required alterations
to enable EU ‘economic government’ could be tacked on to Croatia’s
accession treaty next year.
The power grab came on the most calamitous day in the 11-year history of the euro.
In a humiliating move EU leaders were forced to admit they would
need a ’substantial’ contribution from the IMF in the event of the
Greek economy collapsing and threatening to bring down the euro.
The details were due to be discussed further at a meeting of the leaders of the 16 Eurozone countries last night.Sources said the Washington-based institution would be asked for
£9-£13 billion - dealing a major blow to the credibility of the single
currency.
The remainder of the cash will come in the form of loans from other
European countries - although Downing Street last night insisted
Britain would not be asked to stump up a penny.
The hurriedly agreed deal was stitched up between France and Germany
ahead of a summit in Brussels yesterday amid fears that failure to
tackle the Greek crisis could bring about the collapse of the euro.
British sources last night said Gordon Brown was relaxed about the
idea of greater European economic co-operation, provided it did not
result in Britain handing over powers on tax, spending and growth.

Greek prime minister George Papandreou, who said yesterday that his country would press ahead with painful austerity measures
A senior source said: ‘We support stronger co-ordination of economic policy in Europe, but there are some semantic issues here. ‘No one is talking about taking powers away from member states. There is no prospect of Mr Van Rompuy standing at the Chancellor’s Despatch Box delivering the Budget.’But the prospect of an EU economic government prompted a furious reaction from Eurosceptics in Britain.Mats Persson, director of the think tank Open Europe, said the statement represented ‘an astonishing power grab’. Mr Persson said: ‘It is a ground-breaking development which paves the way  for full scale economic federalism, with the European Council controlling the economic policy of member states, particularly those that are not well managed and have large budget deficits like the UK.’It is obviously a very significant move and it is hard to see how it could be forced through without a referendum in the UK.’UK Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage said EU leaders were ‘living in fantasy land’. Mr Farage said: ‘The fact that they are going to the IMF is the biggestt political failure this European project has ever experienced. ‘When they cannot even deal with the problems of Greece without resorting to outside help it is absurd to suggest anyone is going to go along with the idea of creating an economic government of Europe. They are living in fantasy land.’The decision to rely on IMF support to bail out Greece is a major blow to the pride of the Eurozone countnries, and raises fresh questions about the long-term sustainability of the single currency. The move came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that Germany would not foot the bill for rescuing Greece.Officials last night pointed out that tGreece had not yet asked for cash, and expressed the hope that the existence of the bailout might calm market jitters. The euro has slumped on the currency markets amid fears that Greek could default on its debts, possibly sparking similar collapses in Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain. Greece has now embarked on a drastic cost-cutting plan, even cancelling the traditional Independence Day military fly-pasts yesterday to save cash.

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How Google avoided a British tax bill of £450m

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:14 PM on 20th December 2009

Google avoided paying £450million in corporation tax on its £1.6billion earnings from advertising in Britain last year.
Accounts show the company paid HM Revenue and Customs only £141,519 on other earnings.
Google managed to avoid paying millions here because its
European headquarters is in Dublin - and advertising earnings from
customers in Britain are funnelled through to the Irish subsidiary.
Finding loopholes: Google pays tax in Ireland for all its UK revenuesAccountants say that if the £1.6billion advertising revenue stayed in Britain, it would be subject to corporation tax at 28-30 per cent rather than the 15 per cent levy in Ireland.
Google’s bill would have been up to £450million.

But even the accounts for its Irish operation show a low tax bill. While Google is not accused of any wrongdoing, the tax it paid in 2008 was just £6.7million.
Spokesman Peter Barron said: ‘Google makes a big investment in the UK, with more than 800 employees, and we make a substantial contribution to local and national taxation.
‘But the fact is that our European headquarters is in Dublin. We comply fully with the tax laws in all the countries in which we operate.
‘It would be wrong to think of Google’s revenues from UK advertisers as solely the result of operations carried out locally.’

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Pirated audiobook seller jailed

A man who sold counterfeit audiobooks, including the best-selling Harry Potter stories, has been jailed for 21 months.

Andrew Sloper, 42, of Alvaston, Derby, made and sold fake audio CDs and DVDs, earning more than £85,000. Read more