Cardsharps and Mudslingers…..
Like a Hollywood villain (but without the maniacal laughter) the mask of Nu Labour was peeled back to reveal…well The Labour Party actually.
The touchy feely, cool Britannia, things can only get better era was conveniently shoved to one side. By raising the upper tax rate to 50%, a line in the sand was firmly drawn.
If you think all those rich bast*rds who got us into this mess should pay our way out of it then Labour is the party to vote for.
Not forgetting of course that they will also clean up the matter of MP’s expenses. Not surprisingly this didn’t get all party backing. After all Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.
Back to Basics politics. If you don’t like the well off, vote Labour. If you are well off vote Conservative.
For the 50% who couldn’t give a toss about who runs the country, it is time you did. It may not matter to you, but it certainly matters to your children and grand children. All of the cards are on the table, it is up to you how and by whom they are played.
That is if we still have a stake this time next year and we are not just a busted flush.
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April 23, 2009 at 3:30 pm -
Let’s just remind ourselves of recent allegations about tax avoidance schemes operated by Britain’s banks and the possible £1billion a year the banks could be making from them. Tax evasion is illegal whereas tax avoidance is not.
Chancellor Darling recently said that the government had taken action against tax avoidance in every budget since 1997 but that, as soon as one loophole was closed, another opened up. HMRC was due to publish a code of practice on taxation for the banking sector around the time of the Budget. The code, initially voluntary, would mean that banks must comply “not just with the letter but the spirit of the law”, the Chancellor said. “We expect banks to fully comply with their tax obligations.”
I won’t hold my breath.
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April 23, 2009 at 4:48 pm -
“……Yeah, that’s right… it was me all along. And I would’ve gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for those pesky kids and that darn dog of theirs. …..”
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April 23, 2009 at 5:10 pm -
That’s a different kind of Shaggy/dog story altogether …
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April 23, 2009 at 5:13 pm -
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April 23, 2009 at 6:44 pm -
From today’s Sky News website …
“Alistair Darling will not raise the amount of cash he wants from the new 50p income tax rate because high earners will find ways to avoid paying it, experts say.
(…)
However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned the hike would produce far less revenue than the Treasury hoped unless more stringent measures were brought in to crack down on tax avoidance.
Michael Wistow, head of tax at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said: “History shows that increasing tax rates rarely achieves the objective of increasing the tax take, individuals will now look to find other ways of earning money or reducing tax liabilities.
(…)
Tony Bernstein, senior tax partner at HW Fisher chartered accountants, said: “It will simply encourage many of the wealthier self-employed to incorporate, namely move to a limited company structure, in order to save on tax and warehouse their profits.
“When corporation tax rates were last cut there was a huge increase in incorporations as a result and we’re likely to see something very similar now, as the gap between corporate and personal tax rates widens.
“For the employed, it is likely to result in an increase in equity-based remuneration, salary sacrifice and share options, where benefits are deferred.”
………………………..I’m getting almost too depressed to bother commenting any more.
After all, didn’t Chancellor Darling recently say that the government had taken action against tax avoidance in every budget since 1997 but that, as soon as one loophole was closed, another opened up? Oh yes, he did, as I quoted earlier….
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