Germans Learn Of Irish Tax Increase Plans Ahead of Irish People

Oops (via nc links):

The government has complained to the European Commission over the release in Germany of a document disclosing confidential details about new taxes to be introduced in Ireland over the next two years.
In a deeply embarrassing development the document – identifying austerity measures of €3.8 billion in next month’s budget and €3.5 billion in budget 2013 – was made public after being shown to the finance committee of the German Bundestag yesterday.
The document, seen by The Irish Times , confirms the Government plans to raise VAT by 2 percentage points to 23 per cent, which would generate €670 million. Next month’s budget would also contain a €100 a year household charge, yielding €160 million, it says.
A further €100 million would be raised from a reform of capital gains tax.

That is pretty symbolic of the clumsiness and bumbling which has been part and parcel of the EU's handling of the Eurozone mess.  After the Irish people voted out Fianna Fail because they made the Irish taxpayers shoulder the debts of the Irish banks, it doesn't do Fine Gael any favors to have the German Parliament discussing Irish tax increases which the Irish people haven't even heard about.  If the EU can't even handle the easy things, how are they going to handle the difficult things?