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Original poster

David Cameron has to resign.

547 replies

PirateSmile · 05/04/2016 07:53

If there is any evidence he has had even one penny of benefit from his father's dodgy tax arrangement, surely Cameron has to go?
He's saying 'it's a private matter' whilst presumably working on his notes for next month's conference on cracking down on such tax scams. You really couldn't make it up. He will no doubt plead ignorance but that's no defence. He is the PM. He should know he's benefiting from is essentially large scale fraud.
Are we really going to let him get away with this?

OP posts:
Inkanta · 05/04/2016 10:04

Shutthatdoor - so my concerns are - has Cameron benefited from his dad's affairs despite saying it is morally wrong??

Inkanta · 05/04/2016 10:07

Another quote from Cameron June 2012

"Those people who work hard, who pay their taxes, and out of that post-tax income, save up to go and see Jimmy Carr – he's taking that money and stuffing it into something where he doesn’t have to pay taxes. That is not fair. That is not right. It isn't morally right."

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 05/04/2016 10:10

I'm no friend of David Cameron's, but if he resigns who do you get in his place? Gidiot. I think I'd rather stick with the devil I know and I'm used to. Plus why should he (DC) be held accountable for his father's sins

Original poster
PirateSmile · 05/04/2016 10:17

I think I'd rather stick with the devil I know and I'm used to.

Apathy rules!

OP posts:
homebythesea · 05/04/2016 10:18

infanta do you agree with everything your parents do/believe?

He has said he doesn't agree with it and is doing something about it. What else can he do? So he may have benefitted during his upbringing- school fees, bigger house, nicer holidays etc but what can he do about this now!?!?! Those were his parents choices, not his

prh47bridge · 05/04/2016 10:21

Cameron's advisors on whether his family still benefit from Panama fund

That was the PM's spokesperson, not his advisors. It is not the spokesperson's job to know the tax arrangements of every member of Cameron's family. It isn't even Cameron's job to know this. The questioner didn't limit it to immediate family so this was the only response possible. If the spokesperson had said Cameron's family don't benefit from offshore arrangements it would have been an open invitation to the press to try and find some distant cousin using such arrangements.

ClashCityRocker · 05/04/2016 10:28

I'm sure Cameron has at some point benefited from tax avoidance.

I'm sure a fairly large percentage of the British public have, at some point, benefited from tax avoidance. I would be very surprised if many of the MPs with a large amount of family wealth hadn't benefitted in some way. Should they all resign too?

He's trying to close the loopholes .

Original poster
PirateSmile · 05/04/2016 10:30

There appears to be an acceptance from some on here that rich people avoid tax and that's ok.
It isn't.

OP posts:
homebythesea · 05/04/2016 10:36

pirate but it is LEGAL

we can have a debate about changing the law but right now avoiding tax is perfectly legal. Since when should people be punished or vilified for obeying the law

Costacoffeeplease · 05/04/2016 10:38

Anyone can avoid tax - ISAs, pension contributions, giving away assets to avoid inheritance tax - all legal and available to everyone. Hasn't this government increased ISA allowances?

Original poster
PirateSmile · 05/04/2016 10:42

Some of the schemes are legal, not all though and even tax experts claim it's a very grey area. Didn't some celebrities like Chris Moyles claim to be used car salesmen in order to avoid paying tax? I wish the HMRC had more balls and tested the 'legality' of these schemes in court.
I wish there was a Government scheme set up to aggressively pursue those who aggressively avoid tax. I'd pay the brightest and best graduates to work in conjunction with HMRC, the Police and the CPS to seek out and prosecute these people, There does of course have to be a political will for this kind of thing to happen...

OP posts:
Original poster
PirateSmile · 05/04/2016 10:45

Costa How can you possibly compare ISAs to people who pay Bishops in far flung parts of the world to sign documents so as to appear as if 'decisions' about the company are being made there, and people who present early morning radio programmes on the BBC who claim to be used car salesmen Confused

OP posts:
Inkanta · 05/04/2016 10:45

'infanta do you agree with everything your parents do/believe?'

Whether or not I agree with what my parents do would be relevant were I the Prime Minister and their actions had benefited me.

Original poster
PirateSmile · 05/04/2016 10:47

Apparently, he thought it was legal.

www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/21/chris-moyles-used-car-dealer-tax-avoidance

OP posts:
Shutthatdoor · 05/04/2016 10:47

There appears to be an acceptance from some on here that rich people avoid tax and that's ok.
It isn't.

It isn't just 'the rich' that benefit. Tax avoidance comes in many different shapes and sizes. It doesn't have to be 'big scale'.

It isn't illegal.

suzannecaravaggio · 05/04/2016 10:48

Yes anyone can avoid tax but the very wealthy have far more to gain by avoiding tax
A large swathe of people don't earn enough to be liable for tax they live precarious lives where an unexpected expense can mean disaster and most of their income is spent keeping a roof over their heads

Meanwhile we have an extractive elite who have a vast surplus of wealth acquired by siphoning value out of wider society

Shutthatdoor · 05/04/2016 10:49

Whether or not I agree with what my parents do would be relevant were I the Prime Minister and their actions had benefited me.

So you are saying he is responsible for all his parents/families views?

Do you know it has or how benefited him as an adult?

homebythesea · 05/04/2016 10:50

So DC should have said aged 13
"Daddy don't send me to Eton because the source of your wealth which enables you to pay the fees may be considered at best immoral in 30 years time when I will in fact be Prime Minister"

Don't be ridiculous. You are increasingly searching for a stick with which to beat DC in the face of the general consensus that DC should not be punished for the financial decisions of his father and in any event those arrangements from which he probably did benefit at some level were not illegal

sleepwhenidie · 05/04/2016 10:51

pirate what you describe is exactly what is happening, investors in schemes set up to exploit tax loopholes are being made tipsy the tax immediately, before the cases get to court to determine their legality wrt the spirit of the law, if not the letter. These are schemes that would have been granted their tax beneficial status under the Labour government by the way.

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/tax/11776226/HMRC-given-go-ahead-to-demand-7.1bn-from-taxpayers-before-they-have-chance-to-appeal.html

sleepwhenidie · 05/04/2016 10:52

Tipsy=to pay

Inkanta · 05/04/2016 10:53

'we can have a debate about changing the law but right now avoiding tax is perfectly legal. Since when should people be punished or vilified for obeying the law'

I don't think legal is the issue. Surely it is about what parliament intended when it framed the law. Obviously ISAs etc is good tax planning but dodgy offshore tax havens is bad tax planning - morally.

Costacoffeeplease · 05/04/2016 10:55

Legal tax avoidance is legal tax avoidance - whether it's an ISA or a trust it's the same principle. Yes, wealthy people have more to gain, that's life

Costacoffeeplease · 05/04/2016 10:55

'Legal' is exactly the issue

HopIt · 05/04/2016 10:56

I like the fact his mum signed a petition about local family services being closed. Yet her husband wasn't putting the money in the pot for those services.

Inkanta · 05/04/2016 10:57

'So you are saying he is responsible for all his parents/families views?'

Not views.