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OECD: Brexit would be 'like a tax' on British people

Apr 27, 2016, 16:30 IST

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Istanbul February 9, 2015. Turkey prefers to set specific national investment targets as part of efforts to boost economic growth but it is not clear if all G20 member nations are willing to sign up to hard numbers, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said on Monday.REUTERS/Murad Sezer

A top official at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says the effects of Britain leaving the EU would be akin to a "tax" on British citizens.

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In a speech at the London School of Economics on Wednesday, Secretary General Angel Gurria said: "Brexit would, rather like a tax, hit the wellbeing and the pockets of UK citizens.

"Unlike most taxes, however, this one will not finance the provision of public services or close the fiscal gap. The "Brexit tax" would be a pure deadweight loss, a cost incurred with no economic benefit. And this tax would not be a one-off levy. Britons would be paying it for many years."

The OECD is the latest in a growing line of major international institutions and figures putting their weight behind Britain remaining in the EU.

Earlier this month, the IMF said that Brexit could cause "severe regional and global damage" while last week, President Obama argued that the "UK is at its best when it's helping to lead a strong European Union. It leverages UK power to be part of the EU. I don't think the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it."

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Secretary General Gurria spoke alongside the launch of a new OECD report, titled "The Economic Consequences of Brexit: A Taxing Decision" - which looks into the effects that could come if Britain were to choose to vote to leave the EU.

The report is a 35-page monster, filled with economic analysis and a whole heap of charts focusing on everything from trade impacts of Brexit, to how it would affect corporate bonds, and how GDP growth might react.

Here are some of the most important charts from the OECD's report - showing, it says, the benefits of Britain being in the EU, and the risks of Brexit - as well as analysis from the OECD.

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