i had to laugh today
 

on the news i heard that some MPs are demanding gary barlow give back his OBE because he used a tax avoidance tactic

i find it absoolutely laghable that any MP can dare suggest this considering what gary barlow did wasnt illigal but what they did sure as hell was and still is yet not enough MPs in prison to say it was worse

i dont particularly like gary barlow but i ha dto laugh and teh sheer audacity of a corrupt government ran by corrupt people throwing stones in greenhouses

i would also like a list of good things MPs have done for genuine needy people against a list of help gary barlow has given and see who comes out tops

mind you i cant forgive him for joining up with cowell and helping keep x-factor on tv longer

Re: i had to laugh today
 

If the government wants to get the tax it is owed then a good start would be for the tax to be paid before these media stars get their hands on it.......if they feel that they have valid claims against their tax bill then they can petition for these to HMRC.

Those of us who have to PAYE have no chance to do anything other than pay what HMRC tell us(they get their hands on it long before we get a sniff of it)....and even then they can get it wrong and land you with a hefty bill.......which they now want to take directly out of your Bank account(damn Cheek)....and DC says that this is alright...and if we do not allow this to happen then we will all pay more tax.

If those corporations who manage to swing 'sweetheart' deals with the tax man, paid what they really should pay, then ALL of us would get better services and maybe even pay less ourselves.

This would ultimately be good for the economy because we would all have more money to spend.
And while I am having a rant about tax. Last week we were told that Britain was back to the level of production that we were at when the crash came......they put VAT up to 20%...so if we are back where we were is there any chance that the VAT can now be reduced?

Until the government close the tax loopholes, and make the taxation system simpler, these people with money, who can afford accountants will continue to pay as little tax as possible. So don't blame Gary Barlow.....blame this government and all the other governments before it who COULD have done something to make taxation fairer...but HAVEN'T!

Re: i had to laugh today
 

i dont blame anyone for not paying tax especially after seeing what its spent on

ill buy a splodge of tarmac for the pothole that almost destroyed my alloy wheel and call it straight with the tax man so that way i know it went on something usefull and wasnt wasted on a duck house or MPs moat been cleaned

Re: i had to laugh today
 

Totally agree Ms Pilkington,why have successive governments not sorted out Taxation long before now?Surely there a much simpler method of calculating a persons liability?if things were simpler there would be no need for the armies of accountants dreaming up tax avoidance schemes to the detriment of the ordinary PAYE customer.

Re: i had to laugh today
 

Spot on Jim. It is no damn good wailing about a bad situation if you are not going to do anything about it. You have to put up or shut up.
My own feeling is that many of these chaps who sit in the Palace of Westminster are doing exactly the same thing. I don't thing they will be on PAYE......do you?
So they will be keen to keep the status quo.
They don't wear masks, but they are still robbers!

Re: i had to laugh today
 

camerons dad is one of the biggest tax dodgers going ..

maybe thats why hes deligated the demanding of barlows head to others

Re: i had to laugh today
 

Add in the Peer, recently released from prison who took us for £3,300 for work he had no intention of doing and has been suspended for 12 months. He will be missed!!,

Re: i had to laugh today
 

Not just him & not just £3300 !!!!

Trouble is it takes money to hire competent tax officials to combat tax evasion/avoidance and people complain about that - so HMRC try to get what they can without the resources they really need.

If I were a clever accountant I'd rather earn 100s of thousands helping rich people avoid tax than 10s of thousands trying to catch them!

Re: i had to laugh today
 

They would not need catching if the system were fairer and we all played on a level playing field.
If the celebs were taxed at source like the majority of us are and then had to claim back what they thought could be offset against their tax bill, I am sure that HMRC would be keeping their tight fist on the money in the way only they can.

If the government closed the loopholes hat have been known about for decades then, and only then would they have something to gripe about.
But they won't close these loopholes because many of then are making use of them to avoid paying tax. Like those they carp on about.
Bloody two faced hypocrites.(pardon my french)

Re: i had to laugh today
 

if you are rich you get a certain improved justice

poor man steals food to live he is a theif and branded scum of society

rich person steals a £5000 and they have a medical problem and deserve our smpathy and the courts understanding by way of leniencey

poor man screws around on his wife he may well end up on jeremy kyle

MP screws around on his wife the wife keeps mouth shut while MP pretends new wife is all legit and above board later down the line.First wife or friend of first wife lets slip to press what a nasty person MP is when short for cash a few years down teh line and MP hangs hea din shame publicly for a few seconds then sticks his nose back into teh trough full of free money provided by us

Re: i had to laugh today
 

If you are rich then you can buy justice.....that is plainly obvious from the way celebs in cases of infidelity could get the legal system to grant them anonymity.

And the spiders web that is our tax system catches the little flies(us).....but allows the big fat blowflies to break through(Amazon, Starbucks et al).
These huge global companies say that they make no profit here. What cods wallop!
They say that unless they are allowed to keep their lucrative tax deals, they will up sticks and relocate.....taking jobs with them.
I say, let them. It would leave a very good niche in the market for a British entrepreneur to fill.

However, it won't happen because those in government are making use of the tax avoidance schemes in the same way that celebs do....in fact most politicians, and certainly those in government see themselves on a par with celebs.
The all think they are a cut above the rest of us plebs!

Re: i had to laugh today
 

It's not that simple. These media types are companies. When you book one you pay their company and they send him/her along to do what ever. When the person is paid they are taxed but the fiddle is how the company avoid paying the tax. The company will own the persons assets like houses and vehicles and clothing needed to perform etc. They will probably earn as small a wage as possible to keep personal tax low, everything else will be paid for and owned by the company.

Thats how I think it works ish anyway

Re: i had to laugh today
 

They don't want to sort it out because it is working just the way they planned. Look at the Pfizer and AstraZeneca story in the news at the moment. The yanks want to buy AstraZeneca because it will save them money to pay tax here not the US. Isn't that good for the UK if a big US company is paying tax here and not in the US or am I missing something? I have been busy so not followed the story much

Re: i had to laugh today
 

This one of the loophole schemes that the BBC coerced their TV presenters to join.
Please don't tell me it is beyond the imagination of those in government financial circles to figure out a way to knock this on the head, because I do not believe it for a second.

If the appetite was there to sort it out, it would get sorted out...but it isn't because many who are now slating other people for legal tax avoidance are doing the same things themselves...OK the format may be just a bit different...but the effects are the same....and it has been going on for decades......with successive governments doing nothing...so in effect, condoning the situation but without actually saying so.

As I say....the tax laws are weighted in favour of the rich and at the expense of those who don't get to see their apple until the tax man has had his bite first.
Another thing, HMRC can get their sums wrong leaving you with a whacking bill which is not your fault, but they want payment right away....no time to pay. I know this to be true because it has happened to a family member...they supplied all the information correctly and on time.

As you can see I have very little faith in HMRC or politicians of any colour.
They are all a shower of Fisons.

Re: i had to laugh today
 

margaret thegovernment soon rushed in laws to prevent another fuel strike but that was for their own personal benefit to say tony blair getting egg on his face again

when it comes to the safety of people, making sure the rich pay what they should etc laws are slow to come and are very far and few between although they do like to rush laws through that appear or are said to be for our own good