Mainstream media has fixed upon the famous figure of £350 million per week as the cost of UK membership of the EU. It is nearly three times that – £51 billion p.a., composed of cash outflows to the EU, cash costs incurred here, and of shortfalls in revenue receipts, all directly attributable to EU membership:
Source | Annual Amount |
EU Member State Net Cash Contribution | £9 billion |
EU economic migration | £30 billion |
EU tax efficient business models | £10 billion |
Dutch tax practices | £2 billion |
We also need to insulate ourselves from liabilities that could go to £1.1 billion and beyond, through the EU Budget, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank.
The Italian banking system contains a black hole of at least €360 billion. The Italian government refuses to make Italian consumers and businesses bear the cost of filling it, The Italian state does not have the means to fill it. So it will fall to the other EU Member States to do so, via unlimited new contributions to the EU Budget, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank.
The UK can and should ensure that it is not in the room when these demands are handed out.