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And, of course, the same as with previous leaks, the Government will wax lyrical about making changes to prevent abusive arrangements, and then do diddly squat.
I note that this morning the BBC wheeled out the redoubtable Margaret Hodge who promptly lumped tax avoidance with tax evasion. The Beeb itself while at pains to point out that avoidance is "not a crime", then mixed the two issues - their reporter last night was at pains to say how careful they would have to be outside the HQ of Appleby in Bermuda even before the papers leak became known....Good tv maybe, but rubbish truth.
Surely if avoidance is no crime and the Duchy has complied with all UK tax legislation then where and how it invests is no one else's business?
I'm off to avoid tax by not working my full 7 hours today!
I note that this morning the BBC wheeled out the redoubtable Margaret Hodge who promptly lumped tax avoidance with tax evasion.
The redoubtable Margaret Hodge, whose family company was run through a Liechtenstein trust? That redoubtable Margaret Hodge?
I've just looked at this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-41880665/paradise-papers-queen-s-private...
This is yet another complete non-story on non-tax avoidance and/or non-tax evasion (as far as the Queen is concerned at least) dressed up as something highly dodgy.
I would love to do an exposé documentary on these rubbish tax avoidance/evasion documentaries to explain the garbage they peddle. (In the old days Richard Murphy would be wheeled out to denounce this sort of thing and then you would know for sure it was total garbage.)
[Edit] I just found this on BBC website re Queen:
"Royal money
The Paradise Papers show that about £10m ($13m) of the Queen's private money was invested offshore. It was put into funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda by the Duchy of Lancaster, which provides the Queen with an income and handles investments for her £500m private estate.There is nothing illegal in the investments and no suggestion that the Queen is not paying tax, but questions may be asked about whether the monarch should be investing in offshore finance."
In other words, the BBC confirm there is nothing dodgy about the Queen re tax and that they basically do not know what they are talking about. What a joke! They have (effectively by their own admission above) created a witch hunt (re lack of NHS funding etc.) out of thin air!
Round two is tonight and I believe, focuses on 'celebs' being paid via various 'dodgy' schemes. Let's hope it has more credibility than last night's rubbish.
The great joke is that the UK has dominion over more tax havens than any other country
I just found this list of offshore tax avoidance investment funds on HMRC's website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offshore-funds-list-of-report...
Why has the Grauniad, BBC, Margaret Hodge et al not spotted that I wonder?
i guess the question is then why do people put money into offshore accounts - if its not to avoid tax what is it doing....especially in a small island with a few inhabitants. Are we to believe they contain more knowledgeable investors than those in the London financial district or bigger more secure banks....hmmm...
I'll give you one example of very many reasons (that are all perfectly sensible and legal tax prevention planning). You would be a complete idiot if you are a Dubai, Hong Kong etc. resident investor in UK commercial property if you invested via a UK Ltd rather than a Jersey etc. Ltd with local directors.
what you mean avoiding paying uk tax on earnings from a property sited in the UK benefitting from the UK economy (for what it is worth). Yes I can see why someone would seek to avoid those charges....that said if we are happy with that then we can't really complain about Apple/Starbucks/Bono etc
In most cases, documentaries like these are designed to shock, titillate and provoke the usual dog-whistle reaction from a press and public who don't really understand the issues involved.
Not seeing anything from this one that's any different. If the documentary makers have evidence of illegality, it needs to be handed over to the relevant authorities. I suspect they don't though.
If the rich and powerful drew up a law to say it's fine to go out and shoot peasants would you all be chirping that it was fine when they did start shooting peasants ?
Just because current laws permit such tax avoidance doesn't make it morally right.
I agree.
My issue with this is that they have the financial means to be able to pocket all of this money, using legal loopholes, whilst others that are struggling to make ends meet will see no benefit of this at all, other than wealthy people getting richer and those on the lower end in more and more debt, probably to said wealthy.
Legal? Of course.
Moral? Very questionable.
since when did morality have anything to do with tax?
If Her Majesty's government doesn't approve, they have the power to legislate.
No doubt the tax loss elsewhere would outweigh any perceived savings....