Taxes. If you could, legally, pay £300 a month less tax, would you?

[Lady Whistledown]

But steeling is illegal. Avoiding tax isn't.

I know, which is why I'm saying I think most people would do it if they could. I was responding to the question about whether the sheer amount of money involved made it less acceptable for rich people to minimise their taxes than for the rest of us mere mortals. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Aadam]

Random figure plucked out of the air. Basic economics suggests that there aren't many full time workers on here earning £12k a year. I guess the point is whatever you earn: would you pay less if you could? I'm not talking about breaking the law, obviously.

Okay, well if someone told me they could get me out of paying 40% tax, I would. In fact I sacrifice my salary for company benefits to 'avoid' paying 40% tax on part of my income, which is completely legal. Is this morally wrong?

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Okay, well if someone told me they could get me out of paying 40% tax, I would. In fact I sacrifice my salary for company benefits to 'avoid' paying 40% tax on part of my income, which is completely legal. Is this morally wrong?

The poll results so far- 23 in favour of paying less tax, 4 in favour of paying the maximum, 4 for Vicente- suggest that you're not short of company.

 

[BensGrandad]

Dont know how that happened but as soon as I saw it I edited it sorry see post no 15

 

[dingodan]

Tax Avoidance - Managing your financial affairs in such a way as to lawfully avoid tax being due, usually in the form of tax-break incentives.

Where tax is avoided, the avoided tax is not due.

Tax Evasion - Using deception/fraud to unlawfully evade taxes which, with your financial affairs as they are, are due to be paid.

Where tax is evaded, the evaded tax is due.

But in my opinion taxation is theft.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Take the money !!!!! If HM Govt want to close a loophole so be it, but while it is open there is nothing wrong. Moral repugnance has nothing to do with it - politicians trying to play the morality card is the ultimate hypocracy

 

[Beach Hut]

Tax Avoidance - Managing your financial affairs in such a way as to lawfully avoid tax being due, usually in the form of tax-break incentives.

Where tax is avoided, the avoided tax is not due.

Tax Evasion - Using deception/fraud to unlawfully evade taxes which, with your financial affairs as they are, are due to be paid.

Where tax is evaded, the evaded tax is due.

But in my opinion taxation is theft.

So how do you fund the NHS if tax is theft ?

 

[dwayne]

Tax Avoidance - Managing your financial affairs in such a way as to lawfully avoid tax being due, usually in the form of tax-break incentives.

Where tax is avoided, the avoided tax is not due.

Tax Evasion - Using deception/fraud to unlawfully evade taxes which, with your financial affairs as they are, are due to be paid.

Where tax is evaded, the evaded tax is due.

But in my opinion taxation is theft.

VERY thin line between the two. Wouldn't be surprised if they go after Carr now and he gets a nice back tax bill.

In my line of work I see a lot of tax avoidance schemes. There are plenty around and if you want to re-route money through jersey or the caymans then go for it.

I would like to avoid as much tax as possible but I always have it in the back of my mind that the tax man will come after me. I prefer to give the tax man that extra 20% and sleep at night.

 

[tiberious]

in Nepoleonic times tax was raised to finance a war with France, Now if I had to pay an extra 10p in the pound but once a month could go and pillage France ( brining back wine and cheese for free ) then I would happily pay the extra.

Also The Queen only started paying tax when she was 60. THis was her choice as she did not legally have to pay any.

 

[CheeseRolls]

Simplistic poll here are a few simple legal ways to pay less tax (£300), none of which are relevant to the general debate.

1 Earn less
2 Donate significant amounts to charity
3 Pay money into a pension

Tax avoidance may be legal, but then so is work avoidance. It doesn't make it any more acceptable though.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I would pay a few quid extra if it went towards Vicente's Albion salary, to be fair.

 

[ferring seagull]

WTF ?

Anyway back to the point it is up to the government to close the loopholes

This definitely !

I suppose if I earned £3.3m per annum I would be more than happy to pay the tax on it as that would leave me somewhat better off than I am currently.

It is time that governments (of whatever persuasion) managed to get ahead of the accountants so that someone earning £3m per annum doesn't end up paying less tax than Joe Bloggs who earns £50K per annum. JC, the government through their fiscal policy set the rules, it is absolutely unbelievable !

Perhaps the government should be looking to employ the best accountants OR are the accountants so devious that they can see better remuneration by acting against the government.

 

[beorhthelm]

absolutly. i think anyone saying they wouldnt is lieing to themselves.

what Carr has done wrong, more than avoid some tax, is lambust others for doing so. you cant do that.

 

[northstandnorth]

This has been going on for years and years and wasn't it Lord Vessey who owned Dewhurst Butchers who only paid £10 one year. Unfortunately it is only the wealthy who can afford to pay the people to avoid tax which in itself isn't a criminal offence. To evade tax is.

In 1980, a Sunday Times investigation revealed that in 1978, the Dewhurst chain paid £10 tax on a profit of more than £2.3m. By this time, Edmund's grandson, also Edmund, and his cousin, Lord Samuel, were at the helm. In an infamous remark the Tory grandee Lord Thorneycroft remarked: "Good luck to them."

Edmund's reaction to the story hardly encouraged much public sympathy either. "Let's face it. Nobody pays more tax than they have to. We're all tax dodgers aren't we?" He continued: "It has been worked according to the rules and is all quite legal. I believe that it has been to the benefit of this country." Lord Vestey managed to shrug off the allegations. "This matter has been taken to the highest court in the land and as far as I am concerned it is now settled." By the time the loophole was closed in 1991, experts estimate the family had legally avoided paying more than £88m in tax.

 

[happypig]

Put it another way, would people vote for a party that said "we will halve EVERYONE's taxes" if this meant closing half the hospitals and fire stations, sacking half the police and armed forces, closing all secondary schools unless you pay and drastically cutting all public service ? I know I wouldn't.

What we need is a "Tax Czar" to look at stuff like this and close the loopholes, along with changes in the law that make tax avoidance more difficult by making it illegal to use these sort of fiddles.

 

[GreersElbow]

Less tax would simply mean people have more control over what THEY want to do with their money. If they're concerned about welfare, they could simply pay into a system which cannot have funds withdrawn and gains interest until they legitimately need it.

Less tax would give people more money in their pocket to go spend in the shops, this generates money for the shops who'll then hire more staff and expand, creating more jobs for people with more money who'll repeat.

I also think lower tax would give some incentive to work, it would drive welfare hand outs down. People are often caught in a trap where they're earning enough to be taxed, but not earning enough to live sustainably, in which welfare comes in....what's more beneficial, lowering the tax for that person or taking someone else's money to give to them?
Basic neoclassical synthesis....

So how do you fund the NHS if tax is theft ?

I'll put this in advance: I don't agree with the U.S healthcare system.

But is the NHS the only universal healthcare coverage system? Look at Singapore and France for decent, efficient, cost effective, non-bureaucratic systems. The NHS is alright, It has done me a good job, but for better coverage, more choice etc etc. We need to start looking at alternatives.

 

[Triggaaar]

Working on the assumption that you could do what Carr is doing, entirely within the boundaries of current legislation, and pay £300 a month less tax than you do currently, would you do it?

But Carr is not paying £300 a month less. He earns £750k or probably more, so should be paying > £350k tax. So he could be dodging 100 times as much as you're asking us. In my current position, I'd save the £300, but equally I know I would happily pay the going rate if I was on his salary.

 

[BensGrandad]

During my working life I would love to have paid £5k per week tax. I would be a very wealthy man now.

 

[dingodan]

So how do you fund the NHS if tax is theft ?

Ideally you don't have government run medicine.

 

[albion534]

I earn 440 a week....£342 after tax....

I'm not fussed, but when I read about tax dodgers, etc ( not calling carr it)

That annoys me, but I'm happy with what I pay