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Expensive Lawyers
Can anyone explain why the hooker & the plumber are being jailed for comparatively trivial sums ?
I was going to suggest the benefit of expensive lawyers but the escort could likely afford one of the best (indeed, they probably have similiar hourly rates - I will stop the hooker/lawyer jokes here as they would take a forum of their own and would be in bad taste).
Could it be zero compliance that got them jailed Roland?
Can anyone explain why the hooker & the plumber are being jailed for comparatively trivial sums ?
I was going to suggest the benefit of expensive lawyers but the escort could likely afford one of the best (indeed, they probably have similiar hourly rates - I will stop the hooker/lawyer jokes here as they would take a forum of their own and would be in bad taste).
Is the deciding factor that they paid absolutely no tax on their earnings, whereas others were compliant in some areas of their affairs and not in others? I may be wrong in thinking that both the plumber and call-girl stayed completely outside the formal economy and declared none of their work. Also the call-girl had other circumstances of interest to the police.
A Hertfordshire man was jailed for 15 months this July for failing to pay tax and national insurance on £1 million he earned over an 11 year period. Again he appears to have paid no tax on earnings from his railway planning limited company whatsoever. Transport police were involved. He forged documents.
I wonder how many people are jailed per year for tax evasion outside the serious stuff. By that I mean when it is not a 'serious' crime such as VAT carousel fraud; not cigarette smuggling; not linked to other crimes such as drug dealing; not committed by gangs conspiring; and when not by a policeman/solicitor/accountant/etc.?
HMRC press releases seem to identify mostly bigger scale frauds and greater betrayals of professional trust.
Good to genuineh evasion dealt with but....
HMRC's web page which gives details of the evasion hotline invites people to shop those "not paying their fair share of tax" this gives an inaccurate view of what evasion is.
If HMRC and the Government continue to seek to blur the line between evasion and avoidance they will only alienate the business community further.
Missing the point
The hooker case is an interesting one as according to press reports it was taken by the police and there is no press release on the HMRC website. She was arrested in November 2011 and the case was brought to trial in just over 6 months.
What this says to me is that the police can prosecute simple tax fraud much more expeditiously than HMRC can. It usually takes HMRC a couple of years at least. No wonder they are keeping quiet about it. So no, I don't see much sign of HMRC improving their act just yet.
Maybe they should get the police involved more frequently. Raid the home of a few banksters and find their undeclared tax haven bank accounts, its nice when the job is done properly.
If I'm wrong on this no doubt HMRC can publish statistics to prove it.
So what is your alternative?
I only think "hooker" sound innocuous because we don't use it !
Lady of the night?
Words & music
1. Rappers don't sing, they read poetry.
2. Where does it say that the escort plays rugby?