27 replies to this topic

[Bedford Roughyed]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11918873

Campaigners against tax avoidance by big business forced Topshop's flagship store to close temporarily as they took action in 21 towns and cities.

They blew whistles and chanted at the Oxford Street store, while in Brighton some glued their hands to windows.

Topshop boss Sir Philip Green's wife, the firm's direct owner, has been criticised for living in a tax haven.

They targeted Vodafone the other week.

Duncan Bannatyne has come out in support of the protests. Although he wasn't as vocal when his good friend could of done something about it a few months ago?

[sam]

that paragon of virtue and champion of the left, polly toynbee, was also there. altho she might want to look closer to home when getting all uppity about the amount of tax businesses pay and the places they keep their cash.

[JohnM]

Time to protest, too, about the last government selling the HM R and C offices to a company in a tax haaven.

see BBC Report

[Trojan]

Whatever the ins and outs according to Uncut, tax avoidance costs goverment 15 times more than social security fraud. Guess which this goverment is targeting most?

[bowes]

While I hope they crack down on the tax evaders, the silence of these protesters under Labour when tax evasion was absolutely endemic was telling. The Coalition are actually doing more against tax evasion than Labour but obviously not enough. Most tax evasion is people bringing in dodgy cigarettes or small businesses fiddling their books which are hard to stop, but the rich individuals and big business doing it should be a good place to start

[Trojan]

While I hope they crack down on the tax evaders, the silence of these protesters under Labour when tax evasion was absolutely endemic was telling. The Coalition are actually doing more against tax evasion than Labour but obviously not enough. Most tax evasion is people bringing in dodgy cigarettes or small businesses fiddling their books which are hard to stop, but the rich individuals and big business doing it should be a good place to start

It's not evasion, (illegal) it's avoidance (legal) but but not right. Especially for a man who's supposed to be telling us how things should be run. (Philip Green)

[Bedford Roughyed]

It's not evasion, (illegal) it's avoidance (legal) but but not right. Especially for a man who's supposed to be telling us how things should be run. (Philip Green)

Sir Philip, wonder who gave him the knighthood?

[sam]

Whatever the ins and outs according to Uncut, tax avoidance costs goverment 15 times more than social security fraud. Guess which this goverment is targeting most?

i hope they're targetting the illegal activity.

[bowes]

It's not evasion, (illegal) it's avoidance (legal) but but not right. Especially for a man who's supposed to be telling us how things should be run. (Philip Green)

Guess it's a question of needing to close loopholes

[Trojan]

Sir Philip, wonder who gave him the knighthood?

So what? Labour are no longer the government. This lot got elected saying they'd do a better job. Why aren't they doing one then? Why are they employing this guy who avoided tax on £1.5 b by paying it to his wife who lives in Monaco?
Kraft who took over Cadburys this year (see posts on this forum http://www.totalrl.c...c...dbury&st=40) are to set up a holding company in Switzerland to avoid paying UK corporation tax.
http://browse.guardi...-radio=Business

Edited by Trojan, 05 December 2010 - 09:22 AM.

[Stevo]

So what? Labour are no longer the government. This lot got elected saying they'd do a better job. Why aren't they doing one then? Why are they employing this guy who avoided tax on £1.5 b by paying it to his wife who lives in Monaco?
Kraft who took over Cadburys this year (see posts on this forum http://www.totalrl.c...c...dbury&st=40) are to set up a holding company in Switzerland to avoid paying UK corporation tax.
http://browse.guardi...-radio=Business

The Guardian have done some great work looking at big business and tax (and also with the tax arrangements of a certain individual who used once to describe himself as "a pretty straight kind of guy") though oddly they make less comment on their own parent company's tax avoidance measures.

When it comes to tax, the moderately- and very rich win hands down, whoever is in power. If you can afford the accountant's bill, you're going to be quids in.

Edited by Stevo, 05 December 2010 - 10:46 AM.

[Trojan]

The Guardian have done some great work looking at big business and tax (and also with the tax arrangements of a certain individual who used once to describe himself as "a pretty straight kind of guy") though oddly they make less comment on their own parent company's tax avoidance measures.

When it comes to tax, the moderately- and very rich win hands down, whoever is in power. If you can afford the accountant's bill, you're going to be quids in.

How many newspapers do. Perhaps the ST Insight team could investigate Rupert's various tax arrangements around the globe. No one want to pay too much tax. But these people are making money from the UK and putting as little as possible back in. No change there then. And none expected under Mr Cameron.

[sam]

How many newspapers do. Perhaps the ST Insight team could investigate Rupert's various tax arrangements around the globe. No one want to pay too much tax. But these people are making money from the UK and putting as little as possible back in. No change there then. And none expected under Mr Cameron.

what other papers do is irrelevant. unless they too are on some crusade against those who pay the taxes they're legally obliged to. of course, as a guardian/observer reader yourself, who seems to see this sort of totally legally behaviour as abhorrent, you will of course no longer hand over your hard earned dosh to these swines who are depriving schools/hospitals of valuable funds.

one more thing, when you wail and gnash your teeth at sir phil, dave, george and any other tory sympathiser you get in your cross-hairs, you'd sound a lot more noble and a lot less hypocritical and bitter if you weren't a blatant tax avoider yourself.

I went for a weekend to Holland and brought back 400 duty free cigs and swapped him for a brace of pheasant

[sam]

bless him, he really was a bit ###### though.

In 1994, Brown published “Tackling Tax Abuses, Tackling Unemployment”. Wrote the then shadow chancellor: “All governments owe it to their people to take action against the persistent few who, at the expense of everyone else, shelter their wealth overseas.” Brown told a cheering party conference: “A Labour Chancellor will not permit tax reliefs to millionaires in offshore tax havens.”

another 'whiter than white', 'we'll renationalise the trains' moment. still, at least they pretended to save foxes.

Edited by sam, 05 December 2010 - 01:11 PM.

[Trojan]

what other papers do is irrelevant. unless they too are on some crusade against those who pay the taxes they're legally obliged to. of course, as a guardian/observer reader yourself, who seems to see this sort of totally legally behaviour as abhorrent, you will of course no longer hand over your hard earned dosh to these swines who are depriving schools/hospitals of valuable funds.

one more thing, when you wail and gnash your teeth at sir phil, dave, george and any other tory sympathiser you get in your cross-hairs, you'd sound a lot more noble and a lot less hypocritical and bitter if you weren't a blatant tax avoider yourself.

Don't be so bloody ridiculous. There's a hell of a difference between 400 duty frees and and £1.5 bn. I certainly pay my whack of taxes. Some of these people (and I know one personally) pay hardly any tax at all and they're a lot better off than I am. As I believe I posted some time ago, they are quite happy to participate in the benefits living in this country provides though.

Anythng UKUNCUT get up to to get these people to pay up is fine by me.

[sam]

Don't be so bloody ridiculous. There's a hell of a difference between 400 duty frees and and £1.5 bn. I certainly pay my whack of taxes. Some of these people (and I know one personally) pay hardly any tax at all and they're a lot better off than I am. As I believe I posted some time ago, they are quite happy to participate in the benefits living in this country provides though.

Anythng UKUNCUT get up to to get these people to pay up is fine by me.

ah, so your brand of tax avoidance is ok but a rich persons isn't. it's becoming clearer.

how much tax should you have to pay to 'participate in the benefits living in this country provides'...? should the unemployed/disabled not benefit? they get 'free cash' but some give nothing back, should they be barred from the 'benefits'? because to me, that sounds like something you'd accuse the tories of doing.

Edited by sam, 05 December 2010 - 01:24 PM.

[Trojan]

ah, so your brand of tax avoidance is ok but a rich persons isn't. it's becoming clearer.

how much tax should you have to pay to 'participate in the benefits living in this country provides'...? should the unemployed/disabled not benefit? they get 'free cash' but some give nothing back, should they be barred from the 'benefits'? because to me, that sounds like something you'd accuse the tories of doing.

Speaking as someone who was on benefits earlier this year I've no objectiion to them getting what they are due to. However, the rigmarole of threats etc that you have to go through to get your £60 or so pw is humiliating to say the least - you should try it.
I shall have to pay £11k next month plus any PAYE due from my new job. So I reckon I'm entitled to a few duty frees. My brand of tax avoidance is nothing that millions of others don't do every day. I don't think Sir Philip should be able to get away with his tax free £1.5b that's true but rules are rules. However, I don't think the government should be employing him either given the above. When it comes to hypocrisy though the Tories are pastmasters. After all that's really what they're all about, do as I say not as I do.

Edited by Trojan, 05 December 2010 - 03:52 PM.

[John Rhino]

Kraft who took over Cadburys this year (see posts on this forum http://www.totalrl.c...c...dbury&st=40) are to set up a holding company in Switzerland to avoid paying UK corporation tax.
http://browse.guardi...-radio=Business

Well that's what you get for allowing industries to be taken over by overseas based companies and then claim the money is "inward investment" and a wonderful thing for the country.

The french do things differently, e.g Danone and Pepsi Corp, amd they don't seem to suffer.

[sam]

Speaking as someone who was on benefits earlier this year I've no objectiion to them getting what they are due to. However, the rigmarole of threats etc that you have to go through to get your £60 or so pw is humiliating to say the least - you should try it.

the reason i'm in this snowy hell right now is because i was given a choice, take this position or get made redundant. i 'got on my bike'. but that all ends at the end of this month, so unless something changes, £60pw it is.

I shall have to pay £11k next month plus any PAYE due from my new job. So I reckon I'm entitled to a few duty frees. My brand of tax avoidance is nothing that millions of others don't do every day.

so you're entitled to avoid tax because you think you already pay enough. i bet sir phil thinks the same.

I don't think Sir Philip should be able to get away with his tax free £1.5b that's true but rules are rules

he's not getting away with anything, successive governments have decided this is the level of tax people should pay, if you don't agree with it, fine, then do something about it.

However, I don't think the government should be employing him either given the above.

quite, they probably shouldn't be dishing out knighthoods to people who they vowed to chase for dosh back in 1994 either.

When it comes to hypocrisy though the Tories are pastmasters. After all that's really what they're all about, do as I say not as I do.

indeed, a tory, earlier this week.
from the tax avoiding guardian

[JohnM]

When it comes to hypocrisy though the Tories are pastmasters. After all that's really what they're all about, do as I say not as I do.

It might help if you were to roundly condemn the sale by the last government of all of HM Revenue and Customs properties to a tax haven company.

see here

The committee's key complaints are that Mapeley is an offshore company that pays no UK taxes yet when the STEPS deal was announced it was described as a UK company.

and here

The handling of the property deal, which saw 600 Revenue buildings sold for £220 million in 2001, has been shrouded in controversy from the moment it emerged that the Inland Revenue’s new landlord, Mapeley Steps, was based offshore whilst the agency continued to take a strong stance on aggressive tax planning by other organisations.

Oh and by the way, Guardian Media Group (GMG), the Guardian's parent company, is one half of a joint venture that is incorporated in the Cayman Islands.

also, see here

Income £500,000,000

Tax, £800k

what a crock of ######!!!

Edited by JohnM, 05 December 2010 - 05:37 PM.