Petition: Parliament's vote on the Brexit deal must include an option to remain in the EU

[Imbroglio]

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/205169

Tin hat on.

Mogg and his likes will never be affected by Brexit. Easy to say when you are immune.

Maybe not, but they'll certainly be affected if Brexit is called off or even delayed beyond next March. The ATAD comes into force on 1 April 2019, hence the squealing from Mogg and his likes.

@Hasenstein

Do you really think so?

Why is there a difference with what happens today? I doubt Mogg is non resident for tax purposes.

Mind you I really dislike him.

Why is there a difference with what happens today? I doubt Mogg is non resident for tax purposes.

It's not his residence. His company holds some very dodgy investments, including in a Russian bank which is supposed to be subject to existing sanctions and also does business with Aaron Banks (I think this has been mentioned upthread or on the Westminstenders thread).

ATAD threatens to open up a whole can of worms and Mogg is only one worm among many others. The EU has long wanted to shed some light on the murky dealings involving British Overseas Territories, dubious trusts and (Russian) money-laundering. I'm sure Mogg isn't the only one to be concerned.

And I heartily share your dislike!

@Hasenstein

I can't overstate how much I dislike the man. He is a stain on humanity. And a danger to the UK's democracy.

But I don't think his ownership stake in Somerset is what most people think it is.

Somerset Capital is an LLP with many members. He is a Designated Member meaning he also manages part of the business. But he is clearly not a day to day guy.

The business is an asset manager. I think it runs six funds. Funding for these funds come from a wide variety of investors and my guess is these are institutional investors like pensions. This not Mogg money.

The funds are run by portfolio managers. None of which is Mogg. PMs rarely accept direction from management to manage the money they run. I used to work for BlackRock and Larry Fink NEVER got involved. He could not. It would have been a breach of fund documentation. And BlackRock's fiduciary obligations to its clients.

And so it should be the same here.

Theses types of funds are also very restricted in what they can invest in. To my knowledge the funds invest in emerging market equities.

That these funds would have investors small amount in Russia is therefore no surprise.

So much as we can both agree Mogg is a shit bag I don't think there's any real issue here.

Fair enough, Olivia, you obviously have far more insight than I into Somerset and asset management in general (not too difficult ).

I do recall a recent comment (can't remember where, but will look for it later) regarding Somerset's involvement with a questionable Russian bank. But in general I have the feeling that ATAD will be an uncomfortable development for inveterate tax avoiders. the EU seems quite serious about this:

ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/company-tax/anti-tax-avoidance-package/anti-tax-avoidance-directive_en

and I think it's about time someone did.

@Hasenstein

I agree with this sentiment.

But i don't think you can say it applies to Mogg or Boris necessarily.

The ATAD could be problematic for those that lie about their offshore holdings or employ tax aggressive structures.

Who knows if Mogg and Boris and Banks and Fromage are in this boat?

But this lot should normally be caught by such measures anyway under current UK legislation.

Perhaps ATAD facilitates information sharing across EU states which makes lying more difficult? If so then I can see that some may not like it because it's harder to cheat.

The resolution makes clear that any future trade deal must be dependent on UK adherence to EU standards on taxation, including anti-money laundering legislation, exchange of information, anti-tax avoidance measures and must address the situation of its overseas territories

mollymep.org.uk/2018/03/14/ep-votes-to-block-tax-haven-britain/

Nicked from the other thread

Olivia

This approach by the EU is what I was on about, particularly their concerns about BOTs. As you say, greater transparency can only be good.