I seem to remember when Ca-Moron was asked about Philip Green's tax avoidance, he replied - "I'm not getting into an individual's tax affairs on air".. Well, obviously it's more like "I'm not getting into an individual who gives the Tory party lots of money's tax affairs on air... Oh, and the fact that he works for us as an advisor as well has no bearing on my lack of an opinion either..."

 

This Government are a set of irredeemable c**ts an I thought New Labour and Thatcher were bad....

Cameron makes me absolutely fukking sick.

 

I have never seen hypocrisy and stupidity on such a grand scale as this current fukkwitted government.

 

From Danny Alexander to Michael Gove and so on right to the very top.

Making tax avoidance illegal would mean abolishing ISAs and ending tax relief on pension contributions.

 

Of course there are plenty of tax-avoidance schemes far less legitimate than ISAs and it is time a government started tackling them but simply saying all tax avoidance should be illegal is just a cheap slogan.

 

I don't understand what ISA's have to do with anything - its as irrelevent as including children's savings in the argument. Payments into ISA's and pensions are AFTER you've coughed up your income tax. Lets not forget that these greedy bast*rds like Barlow and co have most likely got huge investments that would make the ordinary ISA look like a kiddie's plastic piggy-bank ON TOP of getting away with paying tax.

 

As for the people saying 'good luck to them' they're either millionaires themselves for just plain stupid.

 

Barlow's greed shouldn't really be surprising though - this is the guy who charged the others a quid a time to use his mobile 20 odd years ago - and allegedly had the others keep their overcoats on when they came to his place to practice - because he'd switch the heating off. Mind you - in his book - he makes a comment about having 'millions in the bank and yet still loving a freebie' - his reference to the air-miles he'd accumulated.

 

Next time you climb a mountain Gary (although arses seems more likely now) jump of the frigging top!

Edited June 22, 201213 yr by Kath

I don't understand what ISA's have to do with anything - its as irrelevent as including children's savings in the argument. Payments into ISA's and pensions are AFTER you've coughed up your income tax. Lets not forget that these greedy bast*rds like Barlow and co have most likely got huge investments that would make the ordinary ISA look like a kiddie's plastic piggy-bank ON TOP of getting away with paying tax.

But you don't pay tax on the growth in the ISA fund unlike other savings vehicles.

 

If you pay into a company pension then the money is deducted from salary before tax. If you pat into a private pension then you declare the payments on your tax return and get the tax back that way. Most of the growth in the pension fund is also tax free.

 

Therefore, both ISAs and pensions are a form of tax avoidance.

But you don't pay tax on the growth in the ISA fund unlike other savings vehicles.

 

If you pay into a company pension then the money is deducted from salary before tax. If you pat into a private pension then you declare the payments on your tax return and get the tax back that way. Most of the growth in the pension fund is also tax free.

 

Therefore, both ISAs and pensions are a form of tax avoidance.

 

The ISA as far as I'm concerned is still a different matter - anyone who has one fair enough - most of them have already paid their income tax (well possibly apart from celebrities, sports stars and ministers) via their salary (well mine was anyway - when I had one!!! - an ISA that is, not a salary - I still have one of those - for now!)

Edited June 22, 201213 yr by Kath

The ISA as far as I'm concerned is still a different matter - anyone who has one fair enough - most of them have already paid their income tax (well possibly apart from celebrities, sports stars and ministers) via their salary (well mine was anyway - when I had one!!! - an ISA that is, not a salary - I still have one of those - for now!)

But that's my point. If all tax avoidance was made illegal (as some people have suggested) then ISAs would have to be abolished.

I see The Scum had a dig at Mr Carr today. They seem to have changed their opinion since March and famous people legally avoiding tax... http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...-Directors.html

 

The Mirror's front page was spot on really. http://t.co/jkCnyXXr

 

I've seen today (not sure how true it is) that in 2006 there were just over 50 billionaires in the UK, and James Dyson was responsible for 61% of income tax paid by those billionaires. Just truly shocking.

I see The Scum had a dig at Mr Carr today. They seem to have changed their opinion since March and famous people legally avoiding tax... http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...-Directors.html

 

The Mirror's front page was spot on really. http://t.co/jkCnyXXr

 

I've seen today (not sure how true it is) that in 2006 there were just over 50 billionaires in the UK, and James Dyson was responsible for 61% of income tax paid by those billionaires. Just truly shocking.

I posted that earlier. JK Rowling also pays full tax on her earnings.

 

It's rather odd to see the Times making so much of this when News International pay very little UK tax.

That was probably where I read it :lol: Your paragraph does seem very familiar!

But that's my point. If all tax avoidance was made illegal (as some people have suggested) then ISAs would have to be abolished.

 

I think the country as a whole would be in a better financial position if they closed them then - even at the expense of ISA's. Gotta be honest though - my husband still has an ISA and the interest he's getting on it is crap anyway - we're talking being a few pounds better off.

 

Anyway - the whole thing seems to have blown over now. I'll have to find other ways of having digs at the BNB that is Barlow. :lol:

 

Kath

I think the country as a whole would be in a better financial position if they closed them then - even at the expense of ISA's. Gotta be honest though - my husband still has an ISA and the interest he's getting on it is crap anyway - we're talking being a few pounds better off.

 

Anyway - the whole thing seems to have blown over now. I'll have to find other ways of having digs at the BNB that is Barlow. :lol:

 

Kath

 

I have to agree with Kath here, ISAs are nothing like the sort of aggressive and borderline illegal tax avoidance vehicles such as K2, as far as I'm concerned it's not even the same game never mind the same ballpark, it's apples and oranges... BUT, like you Kath, I would be willing to sacrifice ISAs if it meant nailing big corporations balls to the wall.... The fact is, corruption begins at the top, if the big corporations and the political elites get away with murder, then it can come as no surprise when people like Carr or Barlow think to themselves "hey, why should I be a mug and play by the rules..?" It's particularly irksome when the bloody HMRC are chasing up people who pay tax through PAYE and then get a demand when their employer screws up their tax code, but then lets off the likes of Goldman Sachs and Vodafone.... Not acceptable..... At all....

I have to agree with Kath here, ISAs are nothing like the sort of aggressive and borderline illegal tax avoidance vehicles such as K2, as far as I'm concerned it's not even the same game never mind the same ballpark, it's apples and oranges... BUT, like you Kath, I would be willing to sacrifice ISAs if it meant nailing big corporations balls to the wall.... The fact is, corruption begins at the top, if the big corporations and the political elites get away with murder, then it can come as no surprise when people like Carr or Barlow think to themselves "hey, why should I be a mug and play by the rules..?" It's particularly irksome when the bloody HMRC are chasing up people who pay tax through PAYE and then get a demand when their employer screws up their tax code, but then lets off the likes of Goldman Sachs and Vodafone.... Not acceptable..... At all....

 

The thing that gets me though is the amount of people posting on forums (probably some of them without a pot to piss in) saying 'good for them' 'if I could get away with it' - even though they will NEVER be in a position to get away with it. If anything this is going to make the economy even worse - as those celebrities who ARE paying their full tax at the moment will probably be on the phone to Carr, Barlow, and the others - asking for the telephone number of their accountants!

 

Back to ISA's - here's an example of their worth - I had one last year - after 12 months, and £2,000 put into it (I've been trying to save as my job is very borderline - very small company and the boss is about to retire) I earned the princely sum of £36 in interest! £36! Gary Barlow can probably find ten times that if he looks down the back of his sofa! :lol:

I think the number of people saying "good for them" has plummeted over the last few years. The financial crisis has meant more people realise that the consequence of the wealthiest paying less tax is that everybody else has to pay more.

 

The general principle of the law in the UK has been that everything is legal unless there is a specific law to make it illegal. Maybe the time has come to make an exception. Perhaps we need a law to make tax avoidance illegal unless there is a specific law to make it legal, e.g. ISAs and tax relief (preferably restricted to the basic rate) on pension contributions and donations to charity.

I think the number of people saying "good for them" has plummeted over the last few years. The financial crisis has meant more people realise that the consequence of the wealthiest paying less tax is that everybody else has to pay more.

 

We can't be reading the same forums then Suedey. I know on DS for a start around 8 out of 10 are saying 'good for them' whilst at the same time 8 out of 10 seem to be thoroughly behind Cameron's attack on the poorest paid in the country (probably the same 8). If you look at people's comments in response to the tax issue in major papers there seems to be more in favour of what the dodgers are doing than against them (and no - I don't only mean the Daily Heil!)

 

 

OBE - Overseas Banking Expert.

Edited June 25, 201213 yr by Kath

The thing that gets me though is the amount of people posting on forums (probably some of them without a pot to piss in) saying 'good for them' 'if I could get away with it' - even though they will NEVER be in a position to get away with it. If anything this is going to make the economy even worse - as those celebrities who ARE paying their full tax at the moment will probably be on the phone to Carr, Barlow, and the others - asking for the telephone number of their accountants!

 

Back to ISA's - here's an example of their worth - I had one last year - after 12 months, and £2,000 put into it (I've been trying to save as my job is very borderline - very small company and the boss is about to retire) I earned the princely sum of £36 in interest! £36! Gary Barlow can probably find ten times that if he looks down the back of his sofa! :lol:

 

These people saying "good on them" are just ignorant f**king morons, simple as... The fact of the matter is, is that if these avoiders paid their bit instead of avoiding, then there would be tax cuts for everyone, not just the priveleged few who can afford clever accountants. Taxes for all could be decreased by 2p at least, and the loweste paid could thotically be taken out of tax altogether.. The whole principle of taxation, according to the likes of Adam Smith and other Enlightenment thinkers was that taxes should be fair and that the lowest earners should never have paid tax in the first place, the richest people should shoulder the greatest tax burden.

These people saying "good on them" are just ignorant f**king morons, simple as... The fact of the matter is, is that if these avoiders paid their bit instead of avoiding, then there would be tax cuts for everyone, not just the priveleged few who can afford clever accountants. Taxes for all could be decreased by 2p at least, and the loweste paid could thotically be taken out of tax altogether.. The whole principle of taxation, according to the likes of Adam Smith and other Enlightenment thinkers was that taxes should be fair and that the lowest earners should never have paid tax in the first place, the richest people should shoulder the greatest tax burden.

 

Did you watch 8 out of 10 Cats Grim? Good show (apparently it had twice its normal audience last Friday). I was particularly taken with Jon Richardson - he didn't so much make a joke - he really did seem bothered (as everyone should be) by this whole affair.

 

I liked Frankie Boyle's twitter comment too - 'a children's ward - or if you like - a pool table in your new house'.

You may find this interesting too. A glimmer of hope! Not all fat cats are greedy like Barlow & Co!

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-...ay-7878753.html

 

Its interesting too though that the higher up the income of the greedy bast*rds - the less tax they pay.

 

 

 

And for anyone thinking that they're investing in 'the arts'

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20...m?newsfeed=true

 

Tax avoidance, and the secret of bad British film

 

 

The abysmal Britflick was one of the mysteries of the modern age. But the whole business may have been a clever wheeze

 

'The genius of the parasite tax avoiders that use British film as a host organism is that even talent cannot derail the movies’ journey toward turkeyville.' Illustration by Jas

Is there a more perfect vignette in the recent career of our rapidly oxidising prime minister than his standing next to Aung San Suu Kyi but being quizzed about Gary Barlow? Over the years, many of us will have beheld certain politicians and wondered: "Do they have any idea what plonkers they are?" One hopes the knowledge eats at them in the silent watches of the night, but the suspicion is that everything from ministerial cars to American bilaterals fools them, and they never really put themselves into perspective.

 

Occasionally, though, the gods of staging chuck us a bone. And the experience of standing beside the Burmese pro-democracy paragon while reporters asked about his mate from Take That must have brought home to David Cameron his essential smallness. It was a moment made for the commentary of Spinal Tap's David St Hubbins. "That," he once remarked, "is too much f***ing perspective."

 

Much has been said on Jimmy Carr's "terrible error of judgment", and we shall come later to the "terribly funny error of judgment" that saw Cameron pronounce on it. For now, thanks to the excellent Times investigation into tax avoidance, we can be grateful for two things. Gary Barlow only had a couple of days to enjoy his OBE before people were claiming he was a chiseller. And perhaps we finally have an explanation for the awfulness of British films.

 

Obviously, there are exceptions. But for every rare Britflick success, there must be 20 sensationally appalling duds. In a country so strong in all the other arts, it was one of the great mysteries of the modern cultural era. So what a lightbulb moment to read that, according to the Times, £150,000 invested in a film could generate £1m of tax relief – even if it flopped. The product is in effect irrelevant. Those British films that take three figures at the box office should clearly be trailed with the tagline: "From the accountants who brought you Love, Honour and the Rancid Potato Men".

 

Forgive the detour into esoterica, but have you seen Mad Cows? For some years now, my friend Matthew and I have nurtured a demented fixation with this 1999 British classic, watching it countless times, typically in drink, whilst howling: "HOW? How in the name of sanity did this get made?" I now wonder if it could be that the ever-perplexing sequence in which Rustie Lee is effectively interned in HMP Scrubsway, for merely being in a shop at the same time Anna Friel shoves some frozen peas down her bra to ease her nursing discomfort, is not an inexcusable plot hole after all, but an extraordinary act of cinematic accountancy that, every time it is watched, triggers an automatic payment of a hundred grand into some investor's bank account.

 

This, presumably, is how they create wealth in Bizarro World. Indeed, there is an even closer fictional precedent: The Producers, where two shysters hatch a plot to get rich by overselling shares in a Broadway flop. Jimmy Carr, and all the sadly unnamed non-celebs who decline the civic duty of paying proper tax in favour of avoiding it via film investment schemes and the like – they are the Bialystock to the accountants' Bloom.

 

But where The Producers' Bialystock and Bloom unintentionally produce a camp hit, this is not the fate of the Britflicks. Perhaps the genius of the parasite tax avoiders that use British film as a host organism is that even talent cannot derail the movies' journey toward turkeyville. Many of these films harness the immense gifts of some of our finest British actors – but they could have starred Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep and the outcome would have been the same. Retina-scarring for you and me, and paydirt for some footballers.

 

I do not pretend to understand the formula by which this alchemy takes place. It is as opaque as the plot of Mad Cows itself. But could it be harnessed to help the British economy, instead of shaft it? Could it be repurposed in a manner that could enrich the many and not the few? The answer, of course, is no. We need only look at the social and political breakdown that followed the collapse of the pyramid schemes once hailed as the saviour of Albania's economy to be reminded that such schemes are the grimmest of zero-sum games.

 

Yet, with the exception of financial services, there is no sector so routinely frotted by governments as the film industry. Politicians remain pathetically impressed by "movie people", as though we were talking about the golden age of MGM and not some amoral number-crunchers from Jersey. Since 1997, governments have fallen over themselves to give the industry tax breaks – the very ones being exploited by the avoiders – like nerds sucking up to the cool kids.

 

In fact, it is precisely this Blairite celebrity obsession that made David Cameron unable to resist giving his views on the personal tax arrangements of a comedian. One imagines that, by now, with questions rolling in on his own family fortune and every tax avoider he has ever befriended or made a government adviser, he is beginning to grasp what an imbecilic act of self-sabotage that was. Its fallout, however, might be something many of us can enjoy with a bucket of popcorn.

 

 

Unrelated to tax issues (just sycophancy) this guy's blog is really funny!

 

http://tompride.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/g...elderly-royals/

Edited June 27, 201213 yr by Kath