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Migrants face £50 'tax' for public services

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Published Date: 20 March 2009
By Andrew Woodcock
ECONOMIC migrants and students coming to the UK from outside the European Union will have to pay a £50 levy towards the cost of the public services they will consume, government ministers confirmed yesterday.
But the £70 million which it is expected the "migrant tax" will raise over the next two years was dismissed by a pressure group as "a drop in the ocean" compared with the amount of taxpayers' money spent on them.

The Institute for Public Policy Research, a left-of-centre think-tank, warned the government that it risked fuelling anti- migrant sentiments by suggesting immigrants place strains on schools, the police and the NHS.

Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, yesterday announced the new charge would come into effect later this year to pay for the Migration Impacts Fund, to be distributed to different areas depending on how many migrants they attract.





The full article contains 158 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 19 March 2009 11:33 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Immigration and refugees
 
1

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 20/03/2009 11:32:18
As per usual, we have another ridiculous piece of proposed legislation that has had absolutely no thought put into it.

Firstly, the people we are talking about here are likely to be either skint, or short of money. Either way, they will be VERY reluctant to spend £50 on essentially, what they see as "nothing".

Secondly, we are not dealing with idiots here. They will find ways to dodge paying the £50 and the methods they use will probably entail breaking other laws in an attempt to put themselves off the radar.

Are Blears and Smith really so stupid that they can't see this? The pair of them would struggle to run a bath, let alone the Home Office.

For christs sake, we need stupid labour out NOW before they cause any more damage.
2

I love guns, gold and liberty,

20/03/2009 11:49:53
They shouldn't be entitled to public benefits PERIOD.

EU immigrants shouldn't even be entitled to benefits. Send them all home if they don't have a job.

Let's leave the EU now so that we can control our own borders.
3

Scimitar1,

20/03/2009 12:37:03
Foreigners should be excluded from ALL public services.They almost certainly wouldn't get free medicare in their own country, and the British wouldn't get it in theirs (except in a few European countries where a reciprocal arrangment exists). If they need care they should pay for it themselves (there are plenty medicare insurance schemes out there).

The story is pure spin but will backfire as it exposes the fact that the diminishing number of hard working taxpayers, are footing the bill for them. A cynic might conclude that Gov has been using the NHS as carrot to attract immigrant labour (through free healthcare and secure employment) ,and to boost the universities coffers. Why would asylum seekers at sanguette rather take their chances crossing the channel than accept French asylum. Time to waken up and smell the coffee,I know of no other country offering it's public services free to foreigners.
4

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 20/03/2009 14:34:15
More gesture politics from this bunch of to$$ers. £50 would hardly buy you an illegal immigrant's B&B in a hotel, not that they have £50 in the first place - they expect you and me to provide £50,000 and that's just for starters.

"Out now" would be more appropriate and whilst here no benefits of any kind. They didn't contribute to them and should not receive them. Better still keep them out in the first place and take a much harder line with the French for virtually permitting this to happen.
5

Finlang,

Switzerland 20/03/2009 22:33:12
Agree entirely with all above. £50 is a bad joke. £1500 would be a realistic figure. As #4 says it's gesture politics. How these useless chumps ever got to be in positions of power will remain a mystery, but that probably applies to most UK politicians nowadays. Self-serving bumheads with no useful public function.
6

truthsleuth,

21/03/2009 00:25:38
They should not be allowed into UK
We cannot afford them
7

Johnmc1982,

London 21/03/2009 01:23:05
The entire british economy is driven by migrants. All critical positions are held by migrants. If Mr B and similar fools wants to drive away migrants, then this will only bring the biggest disaster in UK and there will not be no turn around from there.
The only thing uk people do is hang around and eat burgers in McDonnalds ..
8

Johnmc1982,

21/03/2009 01:39:37
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5941255.ece

 

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