The true cost of EU membership is far higher than the numbers bandied around in the mainstream media, and even than the amount on the Referendum Battle Bus. We have totalled the amounts from our own research for the seven preceding Brexit Papers, but even that total does not include the costs imposed on UK organizations from implementing and complying with EU directives and regulations. Those costs fall on all UK organizations, whether they have any dealings with other EU member states or not.
You can download the paper here.
Mainstream media has fixed upon the famous figure of £350 million per week as the cost of UK membership of the EU. It is nearly three times that – £51 billion p.a., composed of cash outflows to the EU, cash costs incurred here, and of shortfalls in revenue receipts, all directly attributable to EU membership:
| Source | Annual Amount |
| EU Member State Net Cash Contribution | £9 billion |
| EU economic migration | £30 billion |
| EU tax efficient business models | £10 billion |
| Dutch tax practices | £2 billion |
We also need to insulate ourselves from liabilities that could go to £1.1 billion and beyond, through the EU Budget, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank.
The Italian banking system contains a black hole of at least €360 billion. The Italian government refuses to make Italian consumers and businesses bear the cost of filling it, The Italian state does not have the means to fill it. So it will fall to the other EU Member States to do so, via unlimited new contributions to the EU Budget, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank.
The UK can and should ensure that it is not in the room when these demands are handed out.