Guest Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 All of those policies would lead to a smaller tax income for the Government, as rich people and profitable companies fled the country in droves. That's the only (and unproven) argument the rich have got. We shouldn't give in to this blackmail - they're bluffing and I would quickly put them to the test. They may squeal like pigs but almost all of them will stay because they've never had it so good and will have to pay taxes elsewhere (some higher than ours) anyway. If it was any better elsewhere they would be there already but they know that taxwise, they get an easy ride in the UK. The few who do go will leave openings for other people to take over what they were doing - so good news all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigthumb Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 That's the only (and unproven) argument the rich have got. We shouldn't give in to this blackmail - they're bluffing and I would quickly put them to the test. They may squeal like pigs but almost all of them will stay because they've never had it so good and will have to pay taxes elsewhere (some higher than ours) anyway. If it was any better elsewhere they would be there already but they know that taxwise, they get an easy ride in the UK. The few who do go will leave openings for other people to take over what they were doing - so good news all round. http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/City-chairman-leaves-UK-avoid-taxes/article-2215556-detail/article.html Earns around £32 million per year. Was paying about £13 million in income tax and no doubt £ millions more in VAT. Now pays zero income tax in Channel Islands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastbank Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 The scale and the timing of the proposed Conned Lib cuts will push us back into recession. The depth of the cuts is because the Cons don't give a damn about public services and are using the current economic situation as an excuse to cut back by an amount they could only have dreamed of. Like kids in a sweet shop. what recession....less people out of work now than the last 13 years...dave and nick say...more people doing the football now...plenty of work if you can be bothered to look for it....lads in ale shop now take their building skills to hull... future is bright the future is blue and yellow...with a bit of white thrown in...happy days...and more to come Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/City-chairman-leaves-UK-avoid-taxes/article-2215556-detail/article.html Earns around £32 million per year. Was paying about £13 million in income tax and no doubt £ millions more in VAT. Now pays zero income tax in Channel Islands. Your link doesn't appear to back up your claim - no mention at all of him paying £13 million a year in income tax. Even if he was (which I think is unlikely), I see no cause for him to complain - I would be an extremely happy man if I was paying that amount of tax and still had around 20 million a year left for spending money. No loss of VAT - that will still be paid (and rightly so) by his company which is still in business in the UK. Under the circumstances, if the greedy sod would sooner make his own life harder by going to live in Guernsey, then I am as happy to see the back of him as he is to leave the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigthumb Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 Your link doesn't appear to back up your claim - no mention at all of him paying £13 million a year in income tax. Even if he was (which I think is unlikely), I see no cause for him to complain - I would be an extremely happy man if I was paying that amount of tax and still had around 20 million a year left for spending money. No loss of VAT - that will still be paid (and rightly so) by his company which is still in business in the UK. Under the circumstances, if the greedy sod would sooner make his own life harder by going to live in Guernsey, then I am as happy to see the back of him as he is to leave the UK. So how much do you think he earns to accumulate a £570 million fortune from scratch. The country loses VAT on money he now spends outside the UK instead of here. The company is also looking at moving to Zurich to avoid UK tax. A few other high profile Brits who pay no UK tax are- Phil Collins Tracy Emin David Bowie Sir Sean Connery Jenson Button Jackie Stewart Lewis Hamilton David Coulthard Stelios Haji-Ioannou Sir Philip Green Sir Mick Jagger Keith Richards Guy Hands the Barclay brothers the Candy brothers These and many more left the UK because of high rate tax. They would have paid many millions in tax had they not been driven out. How many folk paying low rate tax do you need to make up for these loses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 So how much do you think he earns to accumulate a £570 million fortune from scratch. The country loses VAT on money he now spends outside the UK instead of here. The company is also looking at moving to Zurich to avoid UK tax. A few other high profile Brits who pay no UK tax are- Phil Collins Tracy Emin David Bowie Sir Sean Connery Jenson Button Jackie Stewart Lewis Hamilton David Coulthard Stelios Haji-Ioannou Sir Philip Green Sir Mick Jagger Keith Richards Guy Hands the Barclay brothers the Candy brothers These and many more left the UK because of high rate tax. They would have paid many millions in tax had they not been driven out. How many folk paying low rate tax do you need to make up for these loses? The fact that most of those people have left the UK should be cause for celebration. We really shouldn't allow these sort of people to dictate to us. The Government needs to reform the tax structure so that it is clear, and so that high earners pay a fair share. Then, if people choose to leave, let them. However, we should also make sure that they can't come and go. If they leave, that should be it, unless they pay UK tax. That might concentrate a few minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigthumb Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 The fact that most of those people have left the UK should be cause for celebration. We really shouldn't allow these sort of people to dictate to us. The Government needs to reform the tax structure so that it is clear, and so that high earners pay a fair share. Then, if people choose to leave, let them. However, we should also make sure that they can't come and go. If they leave, that should be it, unless they pay UK tax. That might concentrate a few minds. So would you make Britain's tourists pay tax here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 So would you make Britain's tourists pay tax here? No, just our tax exiles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigthumb Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 No, just our tax exiles. So if Stelios Haji-Ioannou decided to change his nationality from British to say Greek Cypriot and dropped by London on holiday, what would you propose to do about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 So if Stelios Haji-Ioannou decided to change his nationality from British to say Greek Cypriot and dropped by London on holiday, what would you propose to do about it? Nothing. But if Phil Collins dropped in, I'd give him a tax bill and ask him to stop singing. These are extreme examples anyway. The US seem to manage to tax all of their citizens, I'm sure that we could do the same if we wanted to. Strangely, the ruling elite don't seem too keen to pursue the richest in our society. I certainly don't buy the hand wringing "If we tax them, they will leave" argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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