Re: More tax revelations
 

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/at...4&d=1510237051

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Re: More tax revelations
 

No confusion by me OB as surely it can't be that hard for the so called clever boffins to work out a clear and concise tax system where everybody pays their fair lot.

Re: More tax revelations
 

That's only part of the problem. How do you prevent people who decide they pay enough tax from simply taking their skills or businesses elsewhere where they'll pay less in which case UK PLC will get nothing from them? That's exactly what happens when one country adopts a higher taxation approach. Right now many of the rich do just that - they up sticks and leave taking their tax and spending with them. The UK cannot on its own come up with a solution to this, the best we can do is simplify the tax system to reduce the incentive and scope for evasion and set the rates payable at levels which aren't too onerous.

Re: More tax revelations
 

It's hard to simplify it though because many of the exemptions exist for valid reasons. You only want to tax profit for example but then everything becomes a business expense and companies seem to never be in profit because of the cost of licensing their brand from themselves in another jurisdiction. As TheDaddy has pointed out before many of these schemes are later found illegal but because of the ambiguity over what is legitimate or illegitimate use of these schemes in any individual case it has to be proven in court.

Re: More tax revelations
 

It seems some folks, including the great and the good, not only like doing what they can to avoid tax in the UK, they don't like paying it in the places they choose to set up homes either. How very generous they are. I mean it must be so tough being a pious multi-millionaire that wriggling out of as much tax as you can is a necessity to keep your head above the water in that vast infinity pool... :rolleyes:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/201...-barbados-home

I'm sure they must feel all warm inside about how little they manage to pay towards the services the ordinary communities they choose to honour with their presence rely upon eh. 'All tax due has been paid' seems to be an increasingly common response to any awkward questions but, even when that's totally true, avoidance schemes are set up for the very purpose of minimising or removing the amount of tax due so I reckon that just amounts to weasel words of the first order. Such generosity of spirit amongst some of our high profile and even uber rich, figures is heartwarming really... :rolleyes:

It's pie in the sky to believe that there'll be a global agreement on taxation any time soon - the rich and powerful will use their money and alliances to prevent that from happening. What's more likely to have an effect though is a permanent change in public mood to bring pressure on these people to turn away from their complicated avoidance schemes and pay their dues. Let's face it none of them are going to be left short of a few million quid are they, even if they pay every penny of tax due without reliance on any tax avoidance whatsoever, even their ISA allowances. Those who're claiming 'ignorance' of their own affairs can't be allowed to carry on doing so I'm afraid. If you know enough to hire an expensive tax advisor to save you money you're bright enough to ask how it all works and make a decision as to the morality of doing so rather than just the legality of avoiding tax.

Re: More tax revelations
 

As TheDaddy said, laws are only broken when the latest scheme is proved in court to be unlawful. With information not being in the public domain and no need for companies to reveal accounts or ownership then you can't tell if tax avoidance is going on. The best thing is leaks like these and the Panama Papers which will help dissuade others from doing similar things.