Tax avoidance is harming us all.

[Vague_Boy]

Do you think Edd Balls's brother pays his due share of tax or his company advises its clients to do so?

 

Tony Blair certainly doesn't

 

The mystery of Tony Blair's finances

[Mecky]

Tony Blair certainly doesn't

 

The mystery of Tony Blair's finances

 

But isn't that free-enterprise, something which you are in favour of?

 

---------- Post added 12-02-2013 at 07:23 ----------

 

We need to start competing as what we are for our peoples sake, not grandstanding and thinking we can solve the worlds problems.

 

How do we compete then, since any product we innovate is copied, improved and made cheaper by other countries? Countries which mainly control the cost of living in the UK because of our trade deficit, we import more than we flog, which drives up wages even further making us even more uncompetitive than we are now.

[DaFoot]

A genuine question to those of you saying how bad tax avoidance is - if you had the chance to LEGALLY reduce the amount of tax you were paying, would you take it or continue paying full whack out of some sense of social duty?

[gnvqsos]

...and owners create jobs for the workers. round and round it goes.

 

the supposed workers you refer to are paid minimum wage because its an unskilled job that anyone could do. its nothing to do with how much the elderly is "worth" to society.

 

Important as it maybe, anyone can clean up or feed someone. Caring is an instinctive human trait. You dont need a 7 year degree in being a basic carer. Thousands of people have to be one for life and get paid nothing due to a sibling/relative or child having some disability.

 

Those who are specialist carers requiring certain skills and qualfications get paid accordinlgy. Not all carers are on minimum wage. Neither are specialist care nurses, oncology nurses or specialist support workers.

 

People are paid what their "skills" are worth. If your "skills" are ten a penny, you receive less wage. If your skills are highly specialist, rare, accademic or subject to professional registration with mandatory retesting and training then you get more wage.

 

We are all born the same and you create your own path in life. Yes, some people are lucky to inherit wealth but dont necessarilly keep that way. Its very easy to p**s it all away and end up with nothing. Other people are brought up in very poor backgrounds but work hard, forge a career or own business and become very wealthy and successful.

 

In life there always has been rich and poor. There will always be those who are employers and employees. Those that work hard and those that dont. You have to have one AND the other for society to function.

 

We cant all be high flyers on £150k plus or rich mansion owning aristocracy. It could not work.

 

 

This a very simplistic analysis.Take top sportsmen who have comparable skills,namely golfers and badminton players.Due to marketability and sponsorship,the former group occupy a high tier.Even within sport like boxing different weight command higher purses,usually topped by heavyweights.There have not always been rich and poor and a study of anthropology would explode this fallacy.I hope you are not studying Economics!

[Mecky]

A genuine question to those of you saying how bad tax avoidance is - if you had the chance to LEGALLY reduce the amount of tax you were paying, would you take it or continue paying full whack out of some sense of social duty?

 

That's a bit of a selfish question isn't it? No man can do it all by themselves.

[andygardener]

How do we compete then, since any product we innovate is copied, improved and made cheaper by other countries? Countries which mainly control the cost of living in the UK because of our trade deficit, we import more than we flog, which drives up wages even further making us even more uncompetitive than we are now.

 

From an export perspective we just need to keep innovating, focus on quality and accept it's a constant battle with our competitors to stay ahead of the game.

 

What I was talking about more was by not shooting ourselves in the foot when we don't need to by outsourcing jobs in services to competitors and importing foreigners to do jobs that cannot be outsourced. As consumers if we refused to do business with organisations that use foreign call centres it would be a start, tens of thousands of British jobs have been lost because of outsourcing which we all pay for in benefits.

[WeX]

Substitute 'employ' with 'exploit' and your post would reveal more truth.

 

"exploit", what a pathetic comment. there are millions of people who would give their back teeth to get 1% of the benefits and protection UK workers get.

 

open your eyes and wake up, we compete in a global market and if you are not happy with your employment, there is a queue as long as you can see that will do your job for a fraction of the price.

[ECCOnoob]

This a very simplistic analysis.Take top sportsmen who have comparable skills,namely golfers and badminton players.Due to marketability and sponsorship,the former group occupy a high tier.Even within sport like boxing different weight command higher purses,usually topped by heavyweights.There have not always been rich and poor and a study of anthropology would explode this fallacy.I hope you are not studying Economics!

 

Of course its a simplistic analysis - im not going to give some vastly detailed economic lecture on here am I. Besides, simple or not, doesn't mean its not right.

 

Yes, I admit there are exceptions such as sportsmen, tv "personalities" and actors. But they earn their money due to the "market" value. The general rules still works both ways. For every Brad Pitt there is a Joe Bloggs stuck doing cable tv commercials. For every Jonathan Ross there is a Paul Ross. For every Chris Evans there is a bloke doing the 2am shift on sleepy fm - Darlingtons premier oap station...

 

Now, please do begin your lecture on anthropology. I cant wait to read your comments on the relations between economies in gift giving exchange vs market exchange and how we westerners have embraced this to the point of no return. Please do explain how in the world of those who do and those who dont such a thing would possibly work for the greater good. Considering the boom in the "those that do and those that dont" attitudes have been around since before the industrial revolution and bearing in mind that even before that for hundreds of years Aristocracy had all the power and land please do advise your thoughts on converting that to modern society so, I presume, everyone should somehow be equal?

[truman]

Do you think Edd Balls's brother pays his due share of tax or his company advises its clients to do so?

 

What abouit Margaret Hodge's family's company?

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businesslatestnews/9668396/Margaret-Hodges-family-company-pays-just-0.01pc-tax-on-2.1bn-of-business-generated-in-the-UK.html

[BoroB]

That's a bit of a selfish question isn't it? No man can do it all by themselves.

 

Is that a yes then?

 

Theres nothing legally wrong with avoiding tax, just ask the dozens of MP's who took advantage of the rules and 'flipped' their homes in order to avoid capital gains tax on their second homes.

 

Hazel Blears even flipping flipped twice to avoid tax.