Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramrod
Exactly.
|
So you support legal highs then?
Same sort of thing. Some of these schemes are usually based on schemes that are illegal, only modified to not be caught in current rules. HMRC usually find these schemes and have to then show they actually break the intention of the rules. This is exactly the same MO of those making legal highs, take a (usually illegal) drug, change it chemically a bit, presto, legal.
As heero yuy has said, the only way to have HMRC able to enforce the tax rules as they are intended is to have a system where any new "Tax optimisation" scheme has to be cleared before use. Alas I'm not even sure that's allowed.
As for Osem's comments, I agree. Don't hate the player, hate the game. I cannot blame anyone for taking every measure to protect their money. Nobody
likes the taxman, but we need fairness when it comes to paying your dues. if there was a loophole to PAYE not only would many people exploit it, but you'd likely see a harsh clampdown on it too. There's a perception that the richer you are, the softer HMRC seems to be.
The message to the masses (Likely all of us included) is this: "You WILL pay your taxes, be it PAYE or via Self Assessment".
The message to the elite and rich seems to be: "Please pay your taxes, pretty please" and while HMRC are getting tougher, leaks like this show it's way to easy for those with money to make sure they do not contribute their dues to this country as they should. We need a tax system that makes sure ALL have the same tax regime, with clear, and fair tax optimisation schemes that promote investment coming into the country instead of allowing money to escape.