The Editor writes:

Never say never, especially when it comes to Europe. The story of the EU is one of continual advance at the expense of lawmaking rights of national governments. Tax is absolutely no exception, indeed fingers are already itching mightily to initiate what will be one of the major erosions of sovereignty so far, namely over the right to raise taxes. There should be no surprise at this. The economic stability pact which underpins the euro is the foundation upon which the Union will build a common economic policy, including a segment of taxation decided by (and much later on, levied by) Brussels. The conviction this will happen is the real cause of the Danes, Swedes and British shunning the euro … so far. And yes, Anna, not only do I remember the British referendum, but I reported it. It was actually an endorsement of existing membership, which the socialist government promised would never lead to the loss of another ounce (as it was then) of sovereignty. See what I mean?