Even after the rebate, Britain is the fourth-biggest net contributor by shares of national income.

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When redistribution is the game, someone must be a net contributor.

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Indeed, from the moment of joining, Britain was on course to become the biggest net contributor to the budget despite being one of the club's poorest members.

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He even raised the sensitive issue of the rebate that Britain gets from the EU budget in compensation for the quirky rules that would otherwise make it a disproportionately large net contributor.

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The French president even raised the sensitive issue of the rebate that Britain gets from the EU budget in compensation for the quirky rules that would otherwise make it a disproportionately large net contributor.

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Britain is a net contributor to the European Union and an important player in the single market, which may give Cameron some additional sway -- but critics warn he is taking a big gamble.

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But Alberta's dislike of big government also owes much to the fact that for years it has paid for more than its fair share of it, being the largest net contributor to the federal government's revenues.

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But Britain remained the biggest net budget contributor after Germany.

ECONOMIST: Britain and Europe