Will this open a can of worms

[Psybbo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/.../uk-politics-18521468

[Mamyalynne]

Just so you know Sibton.

http://www.theanswerb.../Question1144755.html

[Psybbo]

Just wondering how many more will be "exposed"

[Mamyalynne]

Indeed it will all come out.

[sir.prize]

For quite a while he has fraudulently claimed to be a comedian so who knows what might happen now.

[Hopkirk]

Hopefully his bookings will drop off, and ordinary people will boycott him.

[shoota]

Can't help feeling that if you're skilled/talented enough to earn £280k pa then a tax bill of £127k is a bit swingeing.
I'm sure that if the percentage were not so high more people would not try to minimise their liability.

[sir.prize]

Good point shoota - but that is no excuse to fiddle - if indeed that is what he did.

[Psybbo]

Yes, we all know about Jimmy Carr now, my point is who is next to be shown to (legally but not morally) be avoiding paying tax

[weecalf]

Sounds funny to me ,more than I can say for either of the carrs

[New Judge]

"...but that is no excuse to fiddle"

He has not "fiddled", sp. The process he used is perfectly legal. When people are having something approaching half of their earnings confiscated and see much of it squandered desperate measures are necessary.

[Hopkirk]

Well, NJ, it shouldn't be legal, and I hope the Revenue stop it soon.

[FredPuli43]

Don't think so. Schemes to avoid tax are created all the time. People in the right wealth category; particularly those with high earnings from their own personal work, and no great capital, and also those with large capital who wish to avoid inheritance tax; get offered them all the time The only newsworthy about this one is that well-known entertainers, stars, are using it.

They generally get stopped by the Revenue and then new ones pop up.

[sir.prize]

New Judge - thanks for your response. However you took my comment out of context. Read what follows what you picked up on. Thanks.

[Gromit]

No we all know that Cameron is a hypocrit.

Remember how he defended and excused the tax avoiding of Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft. I suppose if you donate £millions to the Party you can expect no criricism from the leader.

[sp1814]

Cameron is picking his targets very carefully.

I wonder what he has to say about Philip Green's notorious tax arrangements.

I would bet a month's salary that the majority of those who can afford a decent accountant are NOT paying taxes at the same level that the rest of us are,

Indeed,up until a few years ago (when the loophole was closed), ALL the IT contractors I worked with had set themselves up as private companies, and had their salaries paid to the companies, which would then only attract business rate taxes.

They would then pay themselves a nominal salary out of that, and claim for practically everything to do with their work (down to their suits, laptop, travel etc) as a tax write off.

Furthermore, if they ever had to work from home, they could claim that it was being used for business and deduct part of their mortgage as a write off.

I would have done exactly the same in their shoes, but I was a member of established staff not a contractor.

Who wouldn't?

[emmie]

should be the large corporations in the dock, many are avoiding paying millions into the system. Moving their companies to tax havens, or those with low tax thresholds like Ireland. I wonder whether Mr Carr thinks it's funny, seeing how he has taken the pee out of others doing the same.

[Gromit]

David Cameron on Tax avoidance. Compare his comments with what he said about Jimmy Carr.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8542744.stm

[anotheoldgit]

Yes Carr is not on his own, as I pointed out in the earlier post on this subject, what about 'TAKE THAT' (how appropriate) star Gary Barlow?

Should he now have his recently awarded OBE taken off him?

http://www.dailymail....ent-tax-shelters.html

[FredPuli43]

Only if the people who decide on OBEs wouldn't have done the same as Gary Barlow, aog! In the end, he, or his accountants on his behalf, have only done what was perceived as legal at the time . And Barlow could argue that he is rewarded for supposed good deeds which are far outweighed by the supposed 'immorality' ( a bit much coming from Cameron, when his party tolerates the Ashcrofts of this world, let alone the tax schemes of newspaper proprietors whose papers support him). He should keep it, on that ground alone.

[Old_Geezer]

I can't help feeling that if you're able to attract £280k pa then you are getting way more than your fair share of the county's wealth, since there is no way you will be worth many times more than other hard working folk in different jobs. A tax bill of £127k is lenient since it still leaves £153 or implies the individual is worth six times the average worker.

Human nature being what it is though, it's no surprise folk try to minimise what the contribute to society, nor any surprise they come to believe they are actually worth so much more than the common folk.

One could sympathise with not paying more than one can get away with into a fund that seems to be misused, except for the fact that when they avoid doing so, it is the rest of us who are asked to pick up the shortfall with higher taxes. The opportunity to avoid responsibility ought not be there.