Do you still agree with Christine Lagarde?

[rojash]

After she said the Greek's problem was that they didn't pay their taxes, it turns out she doesn't pay tax herself.

"As an official of an international institution, her salary of $467,940 (£298,675) a year plus $83,760 additional allowance a year is not subject to any taxes."

http://www.guardian.c...e-lagarde-pays-no-tax

[Ellipsis]

@bazwillrun, that is effectively what already happens. The "fund" you talk about is the UN coffers.

Christine Lagarde currently takes home about $300K. If she was required to pay, say, 40% tax then she would be paid $500K, her tax would be $200K and her take home pay would STILL be $300K. The UN would be giving her $500K with one hand and taking $200K back with the other. The system they actually use is a lot more efficient - pay a lower salary and don't bother with all the taxation overhead.

On the wider issue, to compare UN employees paying no tax when they're NOT required to, to the Greeks paying no tax when they ARE required to, is a straw man argument.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

Better to keep the focus on the Greeks than go off on a UN witch-hunt ...

[bazwillrun]

Like I said its disingenuous no matter how the system works, if she and her cohorts were seen to be paying "real" taxes then the pill might no be so hard to accept.

and as to one of the specific tax dodges used by some Greeks, i seem to recall there was a similar dodge over here to do with the top floor of a business premises and certain facilites being installed so that it was classed as a habitable floor as opposed to business use and thereby having different taxation on it (cant recall the exact details), we have plenty of legal "tax dodges" over here, like most countries if not all so picking up the Greeks on it seems pretty pointless and churlish

[Ellipsis]

Not pointless and churlish at all, it's exactly what the head of the IMF needed to say to a nation in the mess that Greece is in. What do you expect her to say?

[bazwillrun]

"What do you expect her to say? "

do you think the people shes referring to actually give a schit what she says then ? , and are prepared to change their ways ?

Personally I think not one little bit !

[Ellipsis]

I agree, and that's partly how they got into the mess they're in, and also partly why they're going to struggle to get out of it.

But Christine Lagarde's words were bang on and good to hear, since she runs one of the troika that's involved in getting them out of it ...