§ Mr. Marlowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why it is not possible to give a meaningful qualification in the reply by the Financial Secretary to the hon. Member for Northampton, North concerning the United Kingdom's net contribution to the EEC.
§ Mr. LawsonContributions to the EEC budget are not determined solely by the size of the budget. Although VAT contributions depend on the size of the budget, agricultural levies and customs duties are payable to the Community whatever the size and constitution of the budget may be. Furthermore, the level of agricultural levies is determined by decisions taken under the common agricultural policy. The removal of expenditure under the common argicultural policy from the budget would, therefore, produce344W a fundamental imbalance between revenue and expenditure, and it is not possible to estimate in a meaningful way what the United Kingdom contribution would be in such circumstances.