SCANDAL: 150,000 Migrants has been said to be paying just £1 a week in tax #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @myentertain9jar

AROUND 150,000 eastern European migrants are putting just £1 a week into Britain’s tax coffers.

Migrants in low-paid jobs contribute virtually nothing after tax and benefits are taken into account[GETTY]

Others in low-paid jobs contribute virtually nothing after tax credits and benefits are taken into account.
And as a result of our topsy-turvy benefits system some immigrant families are even costing the taxpayer nearly £300 a week.
The shocking figures were set out in a report from think-tank Migration Watch into the hidden costs to public funds of the mass influx of newcomers from the EU.
It dealt a blow to claims by supporters of open borders that mass immigration boosts the economy.
Chairman Sir Andrew Green said: “The taxpayer is subsidising their wages. No wonder then that employers are in favour of them and that so many people find the UK such an attractive destination.”
Patrick O’Flynn, spokesman for Ukip, said: “This report underlines what Ukip has been arguing for years. It further advances the case for a comprehensive Australian-style points-based immigration system.”
And echoing the Daily Express crusade for Britain to quit the EU, he said: “We can only achieve that outside the European Union.”
Migration Watch compared the income tax payments and National Insurance contributions made by eastern European migrants with the welfare handouts received, such as tax credits and housing benefit. 

This report underlines what Ukip has been arguing for years. It further advances the case for a comprehensive Australian-style points-based immigration system

Patrick O’Flynn

The newcomers tended to work in low-paid jobs with income around the minimum wage and therefore did not pay much in direct taxes.
Sir Andrew added: “There is no doubt that many of these people do work hard but it is a fact that those on the minimum wage pay virtually no direct taxes, and if in a couple, they can receive significant sums in tax credits and other benefits.
“Recent claims that EU migrants make a ‘very sizeable’ contribution to the Exchequer have simply not taken into account that the low incomes of so many mean that they receive much more in means-tested benefits than they pay in tax.”

Some immigrant families are costing the taxpayer £300 a week [PA]

The figures showed that a migrant worker earning the £6.31 per hour minimum wage would pay £5.71 in income tax and £8.14 in National Insurance a week but would receive £12.76 in tax credits. It would make their net contribution just £1.09.
A couple with just one partner working and earning the minimum wage would be entitled to £51.03 a week in tax credits and a further £50.51 a week in council tax benefit. Overall, they would be subsidised by £87.69.

 

And a couple with two children where just one partner worked and earned the minimum wage would cost the taxpayer £294.97 a week.
The net sum would include £167.28 in tax credits, £34.05 in child benefit, £102.16 in housing benefit and £5.33 in council tax benefit. Such a couple would need the working partner to earn £860 a week – equivalent to £44,720 a year – to stop being a net burden.
Migration Watch also argued that the net cost is set to rise as migrants grow older, need more health care and claim state pension.
The Department for Work and Pensions insisted that measures had been introduced to curb migrants’ claims for benefits and ensure a “fair system”.
A spokesman said: “Other countries across Europe share our concerns, so we’ll continue to work closely with them.”