Tax and the treaty

IN his letter (August 14), Brian McDermott argues that the Lisbon Treaty “gives the EU power to impose taxes”.

This is blatantly untrue. The legally binding guarantee secured by the Government at the European Council summit in June unequivocally states: “Nothing in the Treaty of Lisbon makes any change of any kind, for any member state, to the extent or operation of the competence of the European Union in relation to taxation.”

It couldn’t be clearer than this. It is irresponsible to persist with claims that the treaty will affect tax rates here when all evidence points to the contrary.