You are in:
- Contents » Latest News
Homeward Bound?
Stay a little longer
Poland's government is so worried about a national labour shortage that it is planning a tax amnesty for the estimated two million Poles working elsewhere in the EU.
The government is also planning an advertising campaign in British newspapers aimed at convincing workers based in the UK to return.
Franco-Belgian blocking of the EU's "services directive" might have prevented the proverbial Polish Plumber from plying his trade in some Western European nations, but Ireland and Great Britain posed no such obstacles. One million spanner-wielding Poles are thought to be working in the UK, though the figure is likely to be much higher than the government claims.
Britain gave leave to 206,905 Poles to work in the UK in 2007; down ten percent on 2006, a slump the Independent is attributing to the growth of the Polish economy and the declining value of the pound sterling.
Some younger Poles wanting to make a quick buck in Blighty before returning to their home nation, where they would have the cash for a deposit on a decent-sized house might be persuaded to come back, as they were planning to do so all along; those with families in British schools, however, might want to stay longer or for good.
Poles and Brits rub along reasonably well, after some initial hostility. Businesses are full of praise for this motivated, educated workforce and communities are happy at the Poles' keen interest in integration. Figures seem to suggest that Eastern Europeans do contribute to the UK economy; along with French bankers, US fund managers and some others, they make up the share of the migrant population which puts the economic balance of immigration in the black (just, according to recent figures).
While homeowners who need a reasonably-priced plumber at short notice would be unhappy to see their European cousins pack their toolbags and leave, British tradesmen, who complained that their prices were slashed by "cash in hand" competition from eastern Europeans will doubtless be glad to see the back of them. Moreover, any British businessman will be familiar with the sensation of the Inland Revenue being all over them like a rash. This in turn breeds resentment when undercutting foreign workers avoid the beady eye of the taxman.
The fact that the Polish government is mulling a tax amnesty suggests that the Brits have their numbers wrong. If a Pole works in the UK and pays British tax, then he needn't worry about the Polish government eyeing his wage packet. If he works much of the year in Britain, but is "based" in Poland for tax purposes, well, as long as the government gets its cut, details of residency and so on can be safely swept aside. However, if many of the migrant workers in the UK are pocketing cash for the work they do and exist neither on the UK's tax records nor those in Poland, then the idea of a "tax amnesty" makes sense.
It was revealed yesterday that one in four inhabitants of the Lincolnshire town of Boston were Eastern European. Official figures from the government's Census estimates put the population of the town at 58,300, up just over 2,500 from the 2001 Census. However, the local council has pieced together information from data based on doctor's visits and use of other services, and suggests that the real figure could be closer to 70,000 - a 25 percent increase.
Apply this figure around the country and government headcounts begin to look very dodgy indeed.
The Local Government Association last month recommended that "footfalls" in local supermarkets could be used to estimate the number of new people in communities. The government has made no comment on this suggestion, though it could be in for a rude shock if figures show that the big supermarkets are catering for even more people than estimated.
