To think that David Cameron should resign?

[deeedeee]

Presiding over a government that is trying to spin doctors and teachers into militants ,

Supporting a chancellor that has failed to reduce the deficit by his own standards and has delivered two hated and u turning budgets in a row, over the death of the British Steel Industry, is attacking renewable energy in times of climate change, is taking support from the ill and disabled is and NOW he has admitted benefiting from TAX AVOIDANCE????!!!!
This is all wrong. How many more years of this?

To be used to buy shares in companies that traded in dollars - nothing to do with avoiding tax.

Wouldn't the obvious place for that be the USA? That's where my dollar shares are. Why Panama?

Can't decide if this is more hilarious or anger inducing m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156786132995788&id=200006375787

Cameron hasn't avoided tax. However a lot of people are choosing to believe he had. Also tax avoidance is fine. Any sensible person who loves their family minimises their tax bill within the law. It is a moral good to do it. We pat people on the back who do it. Big state is bad. It abuses its power. the less tax people pay within the law the better.

There will be few mumsnet couples with pensions by the way who so not have investments outside the UK. We don't have "exchange controls" any more which were pernicious rules which prevented us from investing abroad.

What is funny is that this government constantly uses the language of smear, innuendo and inaccuracy - in relation to the trade union bill for example, so he can't really complain. Frankly it doesn't really matter whether or not he broke the law. The point is to associate him, subliminally, with ever-so-slightly murky dealings, so that the association hangs around like a slightly nasty smell, long after the original story has gone away.

I don't think he should resign, but I do worry that his and Osborne, Morgan etc's support for the remain campaign might be becoming dangerously toxic.

Am at the delusions of those posters who think that people calling for Cameron's resignation are motivated by envy.

Also the 'few' people on Twitter are now 125,000. Not sure how you define a 'few'.

It is a 'moral good' to minimise a tax bill!?! Whose morals would they be then?

Also the 'few' people on Twitter are now 125,000. Not sure how you define a 'few'.

Probably more than approx 0.2% of the population.?

*To be used to buy shares in companies that traded in dollars - nothing to do with avoiding tax.". Peggyundercrackers

So why set up the investment company in Panama? Why not mainline USA? Or a UK based, dollar fund? Or a UK based dollar fx fund...

If you couldn't have these structures then, I'm sure you could now.

Or in Panama because you like hats, cream linen and canals?

Doesn't answers the questions about

1. How DC managed to have just enough shares, valued at just under threshold HMRC disclosure levels.
2. Why DC disposed of assets just before becoming PM.

Eustace
Can you please elaborate on the "moral good" in not paying tax because of lack of laws that could make you pay and because you and your cronies are the ones who are making those laws?

It's not percentage of the total population you would need to look at. It would % of the total UK Twitter base.

Dontcare
That's all right. These 1% bastards are also ruling us after all.

Naice what happens now has nothing to do with what Cameron done in 1997 does it. So no point in saying why why why when you couldn't actually do it back then.

Guitar I would define a few as about 0.2% of the population of the U.K., I'm sure the people who are speaking about it on Twitter don't all stay in the uk even thought they may say they do - the Internet isn't known for people being truthful...

Actually Peggy I think as a career politician, what DC did immediately before becoming PM speaks volumes.

DC didn't set up the fund, but he has benefited (as an adult) from it.

So yes, if you want to speak out and denigrate legitimate (but morally dubious - as DC himself described similar schemes) investment vehicles, then your own sheet better be whiter than white.

As I posted before - Stones Glasshouses Throw

"Eustace
Can you please elaborate on the "moral good" in not paying tax because of lack of laws that could make you pay and because you and your cronies are the ones who are making those laws?"

I am not sure I understand the question. In general low fair taxes yield more tax than high unfair taxes. Also the state tends to spend money badly. If you look at socialists states like the old Soviets, North Korea, old China etc the state tends to do things very badly indeed and citizens tend to do better in low tax countries where people have individual responsibility rather than state provision.

It is morally good to maximise your income for the good of those you love which is why people do things like contribute to pensions, allow their pension funds to invest efficiently, take their annual tax allowances, and other means of reducing the tax that they pay. those are good not bad things. breaking the law is totally different.

If the state wants to change laws to ensure taxes are different that is up to the state but lawful tax avoidance itself is morally good, not morally bad.

Don'tcare no one is saying labour MPs aren't doing it too. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Eustace we have different morals.

Not a moral good to pay tax? It is if you want roads and hospitals. Why not deny tax-dodgers (and yes, Cameron is one) medical treatment that the rest of us are paying for? And no, private medical insurance isn't the answer because they use the NHS too.

But Corbyn gives an irritated look to a journo getting on his nerves and he's the worst in the world? Fucking pathetic.

I think envy might be more compatible with conservative values than labour values.

Everybody that I know with a business has participated in some sort of tax avoidance. I don't know what people are getting so worked up about. My DH has his own business and each of the Accountants he has had over the years have advised him on practices to minimise tax paid.

I would have thought anyone with a business would agree that it doesn't make somebody immoral.

In any case, those calling for DC's resignation should consider the fact that the person who replaces him will also have participated in tax avoidance.

It's always quite sobering when a thread reminds you that there are people who sniff at £100 odd pounds a month like its nothing.

That's a huge chunk of the food budget here, couldn't imagine having that much money left over in a month to save (Disabled household)

Anyway imo DC should resign. No, what he has done isn't illegal, but it is immoral and really jars with his 'in it together' rhetoric.

The sooner he is gone,the better IMO. Never in my lifetime have I experienced such a completely out-of-touch and clueless PM. As if the shitting all over and demonising of sick,vunerable and disabled people and threatening the withdrawal of family tax credits wasn't bad enough,now this latest fiasco about tax 'avoidance'. Hopefully he will resign if the EU ref doesn't go his way.

I'm not surprised by anything to do with politicians.

What I do really dislike is when people who think because tax avoidance is technically legal then it's all fine and dandy, a lot of these aggressive tax schemes and the loopholes they use should be illegal and the reason it's not is because it benefits the more privileged people in society.

I also dislike the assumption that anyone who earns a decent amount money engages in tax avoidance. This is not true.

I don't care if he resigns or not. I can't imagine anything improving either way.
The Extreme Commercialism that we now have and the tories so strongly support has driven us to a morally bankrupt state. It is so depressing to see such demonising of people who are not wealthy.
The word "Chav" should be illegal. It's becoming as hateful as a racist slur imo.

YABU. David Cameron has done nothing illegal here. There's a difference between tax minimisation and tax evasion. The former is legal, the latter illegal.

David Cameron wasn't even named in the Panama papers so do calm down. Did you know that? That he wasn't even named?

My mother was a tax lawyer and I am an economist so trust me when I say there is no basis to call for his resignation.

Furthermore the top 1% of this country pay 27% of the TOTAL tax bill - we need these people otherwise you can say goodbye to your precious NHS, free policing, free schools, and a host of infrastructure projects.

Just to be clear, I'm no fan of David Cameron or what his Government have been doing recently but in the eyes of UK law he hasn't done anything wrong.

Being an economist doesn't make you an arbiter of morality.

I don't think Cameron has done anything illegal either: if that were the case, he would have jumped before he got pushed, like the Icelandic prime minister. In fact I think it's fair to say that he behaved as well as anyone could reasonably expected, by cleaning up his tax affairs before he got anywhere near government.

There are a number of things that the public have a right to call him to account over, however, and these include blocking EU moves to make offshore trusts more transparent, and having to have the truth dragged out of him by the press rather than coming clean right away.

mait
Is your DH the PM?

I know many are very confused why others are upset because all rich people tax avoid so it's no big deal.

So i'll break it down.

People are upset because

David Cameron is a tax avoider AND the Prime Minister.

David Cameton is a tax avoider AND the man who decides tax policy

David Cameron is a tax avoider ABD he cuts tax for the wealthiest percentage but cuts benefits for the most vulnerable

David Cameron is a tax avoider and has implemented austerity measures that do not affect himself or his family or his friends or business but do adversely impact tax paying people with disabilities

David Cameton is a tax avoider AND he's dismantling the NHS and selling off assets.

Not that hard to understand really is it?

I can't understand why you can't understand.