Migrants to UK add more than they take out

Article in The Guardian this morning refuting some of the political talk about how much migrants take away from the UK in "benefit tourism"

But that doesn't mean British taxpayers are the losers from migration. Quite the opposite. All the evidence suggests that migrants – especially migrants from the new EU member states – are net contributors to the public purse, not a drain. The most comprehensive study on this topic found that the latter paid in via taxes about 30% more than they cost our public services. In particular, they were far less likely to claim benefits and tax credits, and far less likely to live in social housing.

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So, on average, "benefit tourism" (or indeed "health tourism") doesn't appear to be a significant economic problem – migrants, including EU migrants, more than pay for themselves. Without migration, our fiscal position would be even worse, and public services even more stretched for cash.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/06/uk-benefits-eu-migrants-what-crisis

I know the focus is on EU migrants but it also mentions migrants in general. I've been trying to explain this to people for ages - all the years that I've been paying income tax and NI, I haven't been eligible for any public funds (nor have I needed them). Now that I'm on a spouse visa, I can only claim funds that I've contributed to from NI payments, like maternity leave. It just infuriates me to hear people talking about how all the immigrants are coming and going to use up all the benefits money!

Thanks for the link!