Philip Green

[Baileysforchristmas]

AIBU to think Philip Green should put his hand in his pocket to help his staff who will now loose their jobs? Especially when I have just read he gave his wife 1.2 billion, which she paid no tax on because she lives in Monaco

2005: Arcadia pays out a £1.3billion dividend, £1.2billion of which goes to Sir Philip's wife Tina, who lives in Monaco so does not have to pay UK tax.

There’s no such thing as a good billionaire.

He’ll do fuck all to help.

It just goes to show, work hard, you’ll do well in life is such crock of shit, as 1% of the population hold all the wealth, while the rest of us are scratching a living. I don’t know how we can fix this but it is so wrong, there are people that can’t feed their families, can’t pay to keep a roof over their heads and he’s given his wife 1.2 billion tax free! To me that is stolen money from the tax payer which should be paid back.

DH used to work for Arcadia and has a pension with them. Thankfully it's not huge but I don't understand why there is a shortfall in the pension scheme. I though legislation had changed years ago re pensions to mean the pension pot had to be separate from company finances exactly so this couldn't happen. Between BHS and Arcadia the shortfall is not much less than a billion pounds. How has PG been able to extract any money out of those businesses over the years with any sort of a pension shortfall??? Legislation change needs to happen to stop this kind of thing from happening. Why would people put money away in a pension that has no guarantee of ever paying out, particularly beyond the absolute minimum to get the company contribution.

No you will never convince me that O’Leary has ever done any good for anyone.

This is the man who runs the airline who wanted to charge disabled passengers for wheelchairs.

Who wanted to charge people to use the toilets on their aeroplanes.

Who hires most of their staff from abroad because they’re cheaper.

Who charge for everything from printing a boarding pass to booking a ticket at the desk rather than paying for it online and then have the audacity to fool people into thinking they’re paying less for their ticket when actually the money is made up elsewhere.

@TheTeenageYears

DH used to work for Arcadia and has a pension with them. Thankfully it's not huge but I don't understand why there is a shortfall in the pension scheme. I though legislation had changed years ago re pensions to mean the pension pot had to be separate from company finances exactly so this couldn't happen. Between BHS and Arcadia the shortfall is not much less than a billion pounds. How has PG been able to extract any money out of those businesses over the years with any sort of a pension shortfall??? Legislation change needs to happen to stop this kind of thing from happening. Why would people put money away in a pension that has no guarantee of ever paying out, particularly beyond the absolute minimum to get the company contribution.

exactly

Covid was an excellent opportunity to become a more socialist society.
We all relied on society and community when the shit but the fan.

Sadly it seems we're still hellbent on capitalism. The 1% can only make that much money by restricting the 99%. It's not an equal or balanced approach.

Well of course I'd support that

DameFanny how would you go about making overseas residents pay UK tax?

As a minimum the government need to be looking at ring fencing pensions by law so that private companies can't subsidise poor business models using money that isn't theirs.

He doesn't care AT ALL about his employees or the taxpayers who will pick up the bill. If the pictures of him on his yacht are from the last few days (who knows with the media) then he should be surrendering the 'sir' and taking responsibility for having a number of (previously) successful businesses fail in very similar circumstances. He didn't learn from the BHS mess.

Moving money around and transferring business ownership to escape culpability should be something Kier Starmer picks up on as the Tory cronies definitely won't.

No you will never convince me that O’Leary has ever done any good for anyone.
I am talking about the community he lives in - why not go there and ask a few people at places like his local Rugby club if you don't believ me?

This is the man who runs the airline who wanted to charge disabled passengers for wheelchairs.
Granted this was a step too far.

Who wanted to charge people to use the toilets on their aeroplanes.
This was never a serious plan.

Who hires most of their staff from abroad because they’re cheaper.
Are you serious? You'd better talk to 99.99% of large (and many small) employers in the UK and Ireland if you think this is some major offence - or haven't you noticed that many of the people serving you over the past 15 years seem to be "from abroad".

Who charge for everything from printing a boarding pass to booking a ticket at the desk rather than paying for it online and then have the audacity to fool people into thinking they’re paying less for their ticket when actually the money is made up elsewhere
Eh? I used to travel to Dublin regularly on Ryanair for £19.99. One time I messed up the online check-in. I asked politely at Dublin airport if I could get a printed one and they let me off the fee.

Another time I was delayed due to generator fault on a plane in France. Ryanair paid the EU statutory compensation in full and very quickly.

Ryan is fine if you set you expectations sensibly.

@Andante57

Well of course I'd support that

DameFanny how would you go about making overseas residents pay UK tax?

USA does it - unless they surrender their US passport.

@Andante57

Well of course I'd support that

DameFanny how would you go about making overseas residents pay UK tax?

Tax the wealth in the country it's generated?

I would normally say it shouldn't be personal liability for a business failure but not in this case.

It is absolutely true that he sucked his businesses dry, refusing to undertake even the most minimal investment needed while siphoning off millions, and then tried to wash his hands of the whole business in a number of ways.

I don’t understand people who think personal wealth shouldn’t cover business losses. His family took £1.2billion out of Arcadia. If that money had been reinvested or just left in the company, it wouldn’t be bust now. You can’t morally separate the Green family’s private wealth from Arcadia’s losses.

I also have v little time for tax avoiders like Lewis Hamilton and Paula Radcliffe, but at least their money doesn’t come from proactively rinsing the British taxpayer.

Perception is so key here isn't it

I see the way in which Ryan Air operates it's fee structures as really freeing. I pay £19.99 for a cheap flight and can chose whether I pay for bags, meals, extra legroom. I don't get that choice on many traditional airlines like BA, it's just automatically charged.

Others see the charges as a way to make money.

Sir Philip Greed is a grotesque example of the unacceptable face of capitalism. Anyone who watched his appearance in front of the select committee will be in no doubt what a horrible man he is.

He won't give a single solitary shit about anybody other than himself and his hideous family, because he never does.

Tradesman like sparkies and plumbers set up Ltd companies so they don’t lose their house if a customer sues them.

Many also set themselves and their spouses up as directors of the Ltd company and pay themselves dividends rather than a salary, to avoid higher tax.

Many people pay the self-employed cash in hand to avoid paying VAT.

I never hear anyone complain about any of that.

But the likes of Green and Lewis Hamilton are doing exactly the same thing, writ large. The sums involved are different but it’s the same principle.

And it apparently makes them terrible people!

For me we need to look at reestablishing a link between business debts and personal wealth. For a privately owned company there is that definite link and its only right that the owners should pay off the debts. He has done nothing legally wrong however i believe the law needs to change. You start or set up a business then you are responsible for it and its debts.

There’s no such thing as a good billionaire.

Bill Gates?

He didn't create anything - he bought businesses and asset stripped them until they died. He also thieved pensions he owed his staff. Arsehole.

Don't bother angsting over him (or Tina) paying anything back, he won't. Just strip him of the knighthood and be done with it.

No more "Sir" and "Lady" bollocks for them.

@heronsinflight

There’s no such thing as a good billionaire.

Bill Gates?

The good in these Big Men often comes from the influence of their wives who are the power behind the philanthropy (and good for them too).

Philip Green is an odious little toad.

But it's the system that needs to change to protect workers from employers who use their pension funds as a personal bank.

I can't believe that some people think that something is okay just because it isn't illegal 🤯

@heronsinflight

There’s no such thing as a good billionaire.

Bill Gates?

Chuck Feeney

Nah. Not even Bill Gates.

Having billions is obscene. It’s a grotesque collection of wealth, and no amount of philanthropy can ever balance it. No good person could hoard billions and look at the world without feeling complete guilt.