To think its fine for Bono to put his money in offshore tax havens while...

[MelodyvonPeterswald]

he encourages the rest of us ordinary mortals to do more to alleviate poverty and debt. This man deserves to be canonised.

[Viviennemary]

Why not put the Queen on UC. No extras for more than two children per family and cap on Housing expenses. ] Oh yes and no help from the state when savings go above a certain amount. Which certainly doesn't include off shore accounts. Or perhaps they're exempt.

[MelodyvonPeterswald]

The Queen is stashing her hard earned dosh offshore because she objects to her money being used to pay for spongers and freeloaders off the state.

Wait...

[Badbadbunny]

When you do this, the tax effect is no different to if you had invested in the UK companies yourself.

A lot of people don't let the facts get in the way of a good rant and their prejudices!

[IamNotDarling]

And as for the Queen. Money stashed away in tax havens and yet begging bowl out for renovations to Buck House. It's like some third world dictatorship.

The Queen does not have her money stashed off shore. She invested in an offshore investment fund. That then invested in a private equity fund which invested in UK companies.

When you do this, the tax effect is no different to if you had invested in the UK companies yourself.

[Flumplet]

I love all these coming on this thread calling it ‘envious’ and ‘rich people bashing’. I’m extremely comfortable with what we have but at the same time I also pay my fair share and therefore I’m actually bashing the selfish bunch of arse crawlers who don’t feel the need to chip in for the greater good and all that - and especially those who are going out of their greedy slimy way to evade avoid doing so. Tomaytoes tomatoes.

[Badbadbunny]

A company employing 10,000 people in this country is still a massive benefit even if the company pays zero tax itself.

Which is exactly why there are tax havens. The Isle of Man, for example, would be a lot poorer if it weren't for it's low tax regime - they wouldn't have a financial services industry otherwise. Ireland's boom years were down to multi-nationals locating there mostly for tax reasons. It's the rationale for the UK lowering it's corporation tax rates, i.e. to encourage multinational HQs to stay in the UK rather than leave or to come to the UK and bring all their employment with them.

[ManitobaOwl]

Apologies Badbadbunny, I should have mentioned the slebs, sports 'stars' and luvvies. I was contrasting the taxes that employees pay with the taxes on the profits that their work generates.

Agreed shark, but it's the hypocrisy that angers me.

[sharklovers]

That was my point Manitoba. The tax generated is indirect but there’s still plenty of it which there wouldn’t be if they took their business elsewhere. A company employing 10,000 people in this country is still a massive benefit even if the company pays zero tax itself.

[Badbadbunny]

The large corporates and businesses per se will have complex schemes to legally minimise the contribution that their profits make to the economy.

As do pop stars, film stars, TV personalities, media slebs, top athletes, premier league footballers, best selling authors, etc. Why does everyone ignore the elephant in the room and just whinge about businesses???

[SeaWitchly]

And as for the Queen. Money stashed away in tax havens and yet begging bowl out for renovations to Buck House. It's like some third world dictatorship.

Agree with you Vivienne.

Having an ISA is hardly in the same bracket

[ManitobaOwl]

They pump shitloads of money into our economy

Employees of large corporates and businesses do, via their individual NI and PAYE contributions.

The large corporates and businesses per se will have complex schemes to legally minimise the contribution that their profits make to the economy.

[makeourfuture]

They pump shitloads of money into our economy

I think what these new leaks show is that they pump "shit loads" of money out of the country. Are we reading the same thing?

[sharklovers]

Anyone legally avoiding tax is OK in my book. You’d have to be a complete fucking moron to pay more tax than you’re legally obliged to. Let’s not forget, we want the super rich in our country and we want them to spend money here. We want them to run businesses here. They pump shitloads of money into our economy which HMRC certainly get their fair share of.

[makeourfuture]

The companies and individuals taking advantage of legal but innately immoral schemes just look down at us PAYE plebs and think they are the clever ones for playing the system.

The crux.

[MadamMinacious]

Something can be legal and still immoral.

It may be legal to avoid taxes but while we have an NHS in crisis, a shortage of social workers, people living on the streets it IS immoral. This isn't really a grey area to me.

Selling religion at doorsteps legal - imo immoral especially when targeting the vulnerable.

In India, Afghanistan, Egypt, UAE, Iraq, Iran (the list goes on) it is legal to rape your wife but make no mistake it IS immoral.

These people know this practice is morally suspect it is why they are so reluctant to talk about it. I don't give a toss if it is legal, people are angry because it is immoral in a world where other people are suffering to stow your money away and pretend you have no duty whatsoever to the society you take part in.

[ManitobaOwl]

The companies and individuals taking advantage of legal but innately immoral schemes just look down at us PAYE plebs and think they are the clever ones for playing the system.

It doesn't keep them awake at night; the rest of us are just fools in their eyes.

I don't know what the answer is, as I feel it has to be a global change. And that is never going to happen. If the UK toughens up further, other countries will facilitate regardless, as they do now.

And individuals in a position of extreme wealth, power or influence would be killing the goose that laid the golden egg if they contemplated making changes for the common good.

[MadamMinacious]

they are all at it - no need to single him out

Why not? He's a sanctimonious windbag, constantly telling other less well off people what to do with their money. Go ahead single him out. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean someone this hypocritical can't be called out.

[midnightmisssuki]

but its not illegal though?

And to the person who called Nicole Scherzinger 'Nicole Shitsinger' - was there any need to be that rude really? Unneccesary.

[makeourfuture]

but immoral for doing some thing legal, not sure.

It is a tough question.

[Badbadbunny]

There's many reasons I like JK Rowling, and one of them is that she's never been a hypocritical tax-dodger.

But as far as I know, she "trades" through a limited company, so can take advantage of not paying NIC on her substantial profits, she pays large sums to charity, so there is charity gift aid tax relief. She's "avoiding" tax to some extent as if she traded as a sole trader she'd pay a hell of a lot more tax/nic.

[BabsGangoush]

There's many reasons I like JK Rowling, and one of them is that she's never been a hypocritical tax-dodger.

How do you know?

[somewhereovertherain]

Sorry but where’s the story in this not one of the schemes mentioned is illegal and every time i hear it on the news they all say whilst not illegal.....

Tax avoidance is legal and we all practice it to a greater or lesser extent. All companies use tax avoidance - off setting corporation tax against losses of previous years or investment.

When they start looking into tax evasion then there’s a story.

London is still the largest off shore tax haven in the world and the uk mainland & eu should get their own house in order before attacking the British territories.

Or do all those Russians, Chinese and other nationals reside in the uk for love. Don’t think so.

[Badbadbunny]

For those who complained about Labour's "sweatheart" deal with Vodafone, do you feel the same outrage that they also did special deals with Olympic stars to encourage them to come to the London Olympics - many sports superstars were threatening to boycott the games as they moved out of the UK for tax reasons and were worried that returning to the UK would make them liable to UK tax on their earnings. So, they're happy to wear the UK shirt but not happy to pay UK tax.

[Badbadbunny]

Ireland had very attractive corporate tax rate (10%) so many companies set up their global HQs in Dublin - sometimes nothing more than a big swanky virtually emoty office and a skeleton staff - while 4000 employees in he UK work for a "subsidiary". I think the EU are already clamping down on this.

Ironically it's membership of the EU that facilitated and encouraged this in the first place. Apparently, I'm told that the usual transfer tax rules don't apply within EU as long as the company is paying their taxes in any EU state. EU law needs to change to stop facilitating/encouraging this and to start to ban it.

[Badbadbunny]

in the case of companies that avoid business tax vote with your feet

I hope you extend that philosophy to not attending pop concerts and buying music downloads from the pop stars who've "moved abroad for creative reasons" to avoid paying tax. And to not attending the Olympic games, commonwealth games, premier league football matches involving tax avoiders. And not going to the cinema or buying DVDs. And not watching TV personalities nor buying Hello magazine to subsidise your favourite tax avoiding "slebs". It's far more widespread that the usual targetting of big business and completely hypocritical not to boycott your "slebs" if you boycott Starbucks, Amazon, etc.