Tax and Morality

[larrygrylls]

AIBU in thinking that there is a load of hypocritical grandstanding on this topic by both politicians and the media.

Cameron is demanding that large corporations publish all their tax returns. How about he (and all other politicians who preach about tax) open up their and their spouse's last 10 years of tax returns. Equally we have the Times with their recent "Secrets of the Tax Avoiders" (note: tax avoidance is legal) and then in all their "money" supplements in March they run columns on how to legally minimise your tax liabilities.

The idea of morality in paying tax is very subjective. Some people may regard an ISA allowance as immoral or being lucky enough to donate your estate to heirs ahead of time, thus escaping from IHT. It is time for politicians to pass proper laws to collect the tax that is due and not to try to make it into a moral issue.

YANBU

Tax is a legal not a moral issue IMO

Absolutely. It should be legal or illegal. Just like theft. Morality shouldn't come into it.

I agree with Catgirl - definitely a legal not moral issue.

YANBU at all, larry.

YANBU, all very hypocritical. Everytime they announce some new crackdown I always wonder when they are going to move their family trust funds back to the UK so they can pay tax properly.

And agree tax is a legal not moral issue. BTW each time a new tax law is passed the army of accountants and lawyers go to work to find loopholes. It's just a game really and you could never have watertight legislation to make it otherwise

I agree.
It's also time everyone who could work and pay tax did so.

When it comes to money sadly peoples morals go out the window

Nice on the basis of course that there were enough jobs for everyone

Glad I am not the only one in so thinking.

What really gets my goat is the times, politicians and revenue going on about film schemes without any mention that they were based on New Labour deliberately introducing tax breaks for film making to support the British film industry. The revenue even used to have a "film unit" to assist in the setting up of these schemes (now disbanded). Now, suddenly, anyone who invested in them was doing something immoral. (Yes, some of them stretched the limits of what was intended and some were actually close to fraudulent....but not all of them).

Now, on the other hand, there are loads of EIS being touted based upon (yes, you guessed it) investment in alternative energy and, especially, wind farms. If politicos want people to invest in their pet projects and offer tax breaks for them to do so, they should not then whine when people take up the incentives offered.

JMHO.

There is a lot of hypocrisy surrounding tax and tax avoidance in general, not just with politicians and in the media. It goes on at every level from those on benefits and NMW, to those with millions.

How about he (and all other politicians who preach about tax) open up their and their spouse's last 10 years of tax returns.

Why should the spouse of a public figure be asked to produce their personal tax records? What a monumental invasion of privacy that would be.

Tax is a legal issue. The tax code is far too complicated and riddled with loop holes and a complete overhaul would be no bad thing

PMCBlonde,

Tax should be private but if you grandstand about others publishing their tax returns, you should be prepared to do the same. And as finances between spouses are virtually fungible, allowing one party to do so without the other is a meaningless exercise. It is exactly the same as John Major and the rest of his cabinet misbehaving in private. IMO, no one else's business until you start preaching morality to others.

Doesn't matter - Samantha Cameron's finances might be linked to her husband's but her tax affairs are her own. And she's not pontificating about the tax affairs of others.

PMC,

I kind of take your point but it would be kind of hypocritical to preach about the morality of tax avoidance if, hypothetically, one were living in a house paid for by the proceeds of tax avoidance.

But, it is a side issue to my central point. His own tax affairs would be a good start.