Proposed tax on children's clothes, food and medicine slammed by MEP

Louise Bours, North West UKIP MEP

Proposals for a new tax on food, children’s clothes and medicine has been branded as ‘cruel and unfair on the people of the North West’, by Louise Bours, UKIP MEP for the North West.

The criticism comes as proposals to overhaul the British VAT system have started to circulate around the European Parliament.

Currently VAT is not charged on certain items deemed necessary to buy, but a European Commissioner has started a campaign to remove the exemptions and level a tax of at least 5% on their sale, that will be added to the price shoppers pay.

Ms Bours, UKIP health spokeswoman was at the European Parliament when the news broke.

She said: “This proposed tax is not only unjust, it is unfair.

“A government should not be making money out of the fact that people need to eat, children need clothes and sick people need medicine, and I hope that all politicians, even those that want the UK to stay in the EU, will fight to stop this EU diktat becoming law.

“The unelected French commissioner who wants to introduce this tax in the UK doesn’t understand that it will hit lower income families the most as they spend a higher proportion of their income on food than those with lots of money.

“The North West has more people on low incomes and a higher incidence of poor health than most other UK regions, so this tax will hit our area very badly.

“There are only two ways to makes certain this proposal doesn’t affect the North West, one option is to leave the EU, the other is to stop eating, never have kids, and don’t get ill."