Tag Archives: tax avoidance

20-22 January 2023 – the weekend’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Mon 23rd January 2023 - 5:14 pm

Zahawi: There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this
Cleverly: Dog ate my homework type excuses simply won’t wash with the public
Boris loan: He must come to Parliament to explain his murky finances
Jane Dodds Responds to Cancelation of Young People’s Village at the Royal Welsh Show

Zahawi: There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this

Responding to the latest statement from Nadhim Zahawi on his tax affairs, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said:

Zahawi and his Conservative Cabinet colleagues are arrogantly trying to brush this under the carpet.

There are facts that still

…

Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged alexander boris de pfeffel johnson, daisy cooper, jane dodds, nadhim zahawi, royal welsh show, tory sleaze and wendy chamberlain | 4 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 20 April 2020

By Mark Valladares | Mon 20th April 2020 - 7:30 am

It’s a new week, just like the last one…

2 big stories

Today sees the official launch of what must be one of the biggest spending projects in recent government history, as the Job Retention Scheme goes live. Guaranteeing up to 80% of the salaries of furloughed employees, up to a limit of £2,500 per month for up to four months, I don’t even want to guess how much this will cost. But with possibly as many as nine million employees without work, it’s at least a brave stab as salvaging something from the wreckage. If you’re an employer, the link will take you to the guidance.

Competence appears to be a highly underrated quality sometimes, but without it, a government flounders. As, it seems, the Johnson administration appears to have done, failing to take the pandemic seriously when the opportunity permitted and running to catch up ever since. Whilst the Sunday Times has, somewhat unexpectedly, led the charge, the Guardian has kindly summed up the various failings of a Conservative administration.

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged Change UK, coronavirus and job retention scheme | 2 Comments

The LDV debate: Should politicians release their tax returns? Part Two

By The Voice | Thu 26th February 2015 - 10:58 am

The issue of politicians and their tax returns has been in the media once again recently, sparked in part by increased scrutiny of tax avoidance measures. The prime minister has said (via the chancellor) that there are no plans to publish his returns, while the man who would like to be in his shoes, Boris Johnson, said on a trip to the US last week that other UK politicians should follow his lead (and those of their US counterparts) in publishing their returns.

Here. the Voice’s Nick Thornsby and Paul Walter debate the issue. Please do share your thoughts in the comments below. You can read Part One here.

Nick Thornsby: A number of people in response to our opening gambits went further and suggested that the tax affairs of everyone should be a matter of public record. In some ways I would have less of an issue with this than singling out politicians for special attention (though I am unconvinced by the logic of the argument).

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged tax returns | 14 Comments

The LDV debate: Should politicians release their tax returns? Part One

By The Voice | Mon 16th February 2015 - 4:17 pm

Here. the Voice’s Nick Thornsby and Paul Walter debate the issue. Please do share your thoughts in the comments below.

Nick Thornsby: Like the prime minister, I am “relaxed” at the prospect of him and him alone releasing his tax returns for public consumption. Any individual is welcome to do so. But we know, of course, that this is unlikely to be isolated to the PM himself: the floodgates will be open, and all senior and aspiring politicians will, in time, be forced to release theirs. Hooray, some might think: a victory for transparency. I disagree.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged boris johnson, tax returns and transparency | 47 Comments

Julian Huppert writes… Clamping down on Tax Dodging

By Julian Huppert | Tue 27th January 2015 - 4:27 pm

View image | gettyimages.com

Tax dodging is plain wrong. There can be absolutely no justification for the wealthy not paying what they owe.

More than any other party, we know how important it is to have a fair tax system. Before the last elections, we pledged to lift the income tax threshold to £10,000. We have surpassed this by raising it to £10,600, lifting more than 3 million low earners out of paying income tax altogether.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged tax evasion | 12 Comments

Opinion: Tackling tax avoidance should be a top manifesto issue

By Cara Jenkinson | Mon 20th October 2014 - 2:06 pm

In the flurry of press coverage over recent UKIP success, the steady rise of the Greens is usually ignored (including by the broadcast media who are excluding them from the pre-election debates).

The Greens have taken the left-wing protest vote which of course we used to get. On the doorsteps in Hornsey and Wood Green, disillusionment with politics is clear to see – not because of immigration or Europe, but because the burdens of austerity are not seen to be shared equally. One of the main sources of outrage is tax avoidance. Major corporations are still paying minimal amounts of tax, and this means that the Exchequer is getting many billions less than it should be. Local government spending continues to be cut, public sector pay continues to be almost flat, and the pressure on benefits for those of working age remains.

The Conservatives have made considerable noise on the subject of tax avoidance. But as of 2013, the UK’s top 100 companies still had over 8000 subsidiaries in onshore or offshore tax havens, and the ‘tax efficiency’ industry continues to flourish. The lobbying by large corporate donors to the Conservative party means that although some of the more outrageous tax avoidance schemes have been shut down there remains a huge discrepancy between the profits made and the tax paid by many companies. There is some good news on a proposed ‘Google tax’ which aims to clamp down on companies shifting profits between different countries; however the danger is that it will be significantly watered down after the big corporates have had their say, in the way that the new General Anti Abuse Rule (GAAR) has been.

Posted in Op-eds | 42 Comments

Eric Schmidt’s perplexity – a challenge to governments

By Joe Otten | Mon 27th May 2013 - 5:45 pm

Google’s Eric Schmidt has been reported as being perplexed by the UK’s debate on tax avoidance.

I view that you should pay the taxes that are legally required. It’s not a debate. You pay the taxes.

If the British system changes the tax laws then we will comply. If the taxes go up we will pay more, if they go down we will pay less. That is a political decision for the democracy that is the United Kingdom

There’s a contrast here with the case of Starbucks, volunteering a little extra tax in a failed attempt to head …

Posted in Op-eds | 40 Comments

LibLink: Vince Cable – We’ll hunt down the tax avoiders

By NewsHound | Sat 15th December 2012 - 9:50 am

Over on The Guardian website, Vince Cable writes:

Tax avoidance, sham directors, money laundering: the recent Guardian investigation made sobering reading. In the UK we are proud that it is easier and cheaper to set up a company here than just about anywhere in the world. This flexibility is hugely valued by the start-ups and small companies which create a significant proportion of our wealth and jobs, and which are vital to recovery from the latest recession. But this flexibility provides a challenge: how do we stop our system from being abused by people who want to use it to dodge tax or to launder the proceeds of crime?…

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged tax, tax evasion and vince cable | 4 Comments

Opinion: Avoid the Tax Avoiders!

By Kirsten de Keyser | Tue 11th December 2012 - 2:39 pm

On 15th October last, Liberal Democrat Voice published my splutteringly crimson outburst about multinational corporation tax avoiders Opinion: Calling All Bloggers – Don’t make me a tax avoidance accomplice.

Back then, I pleaded that an ongoing media debate would hopefully, at last, provide the oxygen needed to bring about some serious action in respect of corporate tax collecting: “…the media at least seems to be smelling blood. I hope they see this through to some sort of conclusion.”

And didn’t they do well?

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged amazon | 43 Comments

Next week in the Lords… 10-14 December

By Mark Valladares | Fri 7th December 2012 - 2:50 pm

Firstly, my apologies for missing a few weeks, mostly due to a rather hectic diary. So, where were we?…

It has to be said that next week is a relatively quiet week for the Liberal Democrats, with no oral questions scheduled, although Monday does see some Liberal Democrat ministerial action, with Jim Wallace taking the Second Reading of the Partnerships (Prosecution) (Scotland) Bill, which is intended to make provision for the prosecution in Scotland of partnerships, partners and others following dissolution or changes in membership. More important, probably, …

Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged courts and crime bill, eric avebury and robin teverson | 3 Comments

Vince Cable criticises Starbucks over ‘tax dodging’

By NewsHound | Tue 4th December 2012 - 12:32 pm

In the Guardian today, Vince Cable says that he understands why people are boycotting Starbucks.

The business secretary, when asked by the Guardian if he would consider boycotting their products, said:

I don’t shop at Starbucks so this doesn’t apply to me, but I can fully understand why people would vote with their feet as a result of their tax dodging.

Posted in News | Also tagged Danny Alexander, starbucks and vince cable | 13 Comments

Alexander: We’ll get under the skin of tax avoiders

By NewsHound | Mon 3rd December 2012 - 5:40 pm

Danny Alexander has announced £154 million of extra funding for HMRC to “get under the skin” of multinationals who are not paying their fair share of tax.

Some media sites are reporting that he may boycott Starbucks.

There is one slight snag with that claim.

Posted in News | Also tagged Danny Alexander | 12 Comments

LibLink: Simon Hughes – This water tax trickery in the corporate sector is unacceptable

By Mary Reid | Tue 13th November 2012 - 12:30 pm

Over in the Observer, Simon Hughes is making his views on tax avoidance perfectly clear.

Every pound lost to tax avoidance, tax planning, tax efficiency, or whatever other euphemism is used, by people who simply don’t want to make their contribution is a pound that cannot be spent on vital services. At a time when we are asking individuals and households to make great financial sacrifices, behaviour of this kind from the corporate sector is simply unacceptable.

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged simon hughes and thames water | 4 Comments

Opinion: Calling All Bloggers – Don’t make me a tax avoidance accomplice

By Kirsten de Keyser | Mon 15th October 2012 - 3:23 pm

According to Vince Cable “No one keeps their cash in tax havens for the quality of investment advice; these are sunny places for shady people.” True to form, Vince hit the nail squarely on its head with a whammy of a quote, and how we all clapped enthusiastically. But who actually piles the cash into these rogues’ coffers in the first place? It could be you.

Many of our enthusiastic clappers routinely rock up outside Boots, on a sunny Saturday, aggressively jabbing angry posters-on-sticks skywards, in tandem with chants of

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged amazon, facebook and vodafone | 17 Comments

Three intriguing opinion poll results that made me go, “Hmm, really?”

By Stephen Tall | Wed 1st August 2012 - 2:15 pm

Looking through some of YouGov’s recent poll results (as you do on a summer’s evening during the Olympics), a trio of responses struck me as, well, slightly bizarre. See what you think…

Lib Dem voters LEAST LIKELY to think Britain is best at cricket, MOST LIKELY to think we’re best at cycling

This may simply be a reflection that ‘Britain’ does not play cricket. Or perhaps just a subjective viewpoint: after all, England is currently ranked the best test cricket team in the world (though fourth in one-day internationals); while …

Posted in Polls | Also tagged jimmy carr, sport, tax, tax evasion, transport and yougov | 8 Comments

Sticking up for David Gauke and his tax-avoidance comments

By Stephen Tall | Tue 24th July 2012 - 8:15 am

David Gauke, the exchequer secretary to the treasury, is a Conservative minister I’m quite happy to stick up for. He’s in the headlines this morning for an interview he gave to the Telegraph in which he states it is “morally wrong” to pay cash-in-hand to get a nod-and-a-wink no-tax discount:

“Getting a discount with your plumber by paying cash in hand is something that is a big cost to the Revenue and means others have to pay more in tax. I think it is morally wrong. It is illegal for the plumber but it is pretty implicit in those circumstances that there is a reason why there is a discount for cash. That is a large part of the hidden economy.”

His comments have provoked an unfair backlash.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged david gauke, featured, policy exchange and tax | 41 Comments

Tory donor pays £2m to taxman after judge rules against Guernsey trust

By The Voice | Sun 22nd July 2012 - 11:35 am

The Mail on Sunday reports:

One of the Tory party’s biggest donors has been ordered to pay back millions of pounds in tax after a judge ruled against an offshore scheme he had used to slash his bills.

The judge said a Guernsey-based trust set up by hedge fund boss George Robinson, one of the City’s highest-paid financiers, was ‘cosmetic’ and told him and three colleagues to pay the taxman £13 million.

Mr Robinson, who is facing a personal bill of more than £2 million, used an arrangement favoured by top footballers and City banks such as Goldman Sachs after being advised it could

…

Posted in News | Also tagged george robinson and tax | 3 Comments

Danny Alexander: pay tax as I say not as I do?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 23rd June 2012 - 1:45 pm

Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander wrote a powerful article — Rich tax dodgers are as bad as dole cheats — for this week’s Sun newspaper. His condemnation of those, such as Jimmy Carr, who legally avoid paying their taxes couldn’t have been stronger:

… to most people it’s outrageous that a few of the very richest and their expensive financial advisers are devising ever more obscure and underhand ways of not paying their tax. When it comes to paying their fair share, some of the people

…

Posted in News | Also tagged capital gains tax, Danny Alexander, jimmy carr, mps expenses and tax | 32 Comments

Liblink: Danny Alexander to tax dodgers – we are coming to get you!

By NewsHound | Wed 20th June 2012 - 4:27 pm

Following all the publicity about Jimmy Carr’s tax arrangements for his multi million pound fortune which means that he pays just a fraction of the amount the rest of us have to shell out, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has written for the Sun newspaper about Government measures to clamp down on those who avoid tax.

Frankly, I think people who dodge the tax system are the moral equivalent of benefit cheats.

Both sets of people think they can bend the rules everyone else lives by for their own benefit.

The Coalition are already cutting income tax for

…

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged Danny Alexander, jimmy carr and the sun | 19 Comments

Is the government’s crackdown on tax avoidance working?

By Mark Pack | Mon 21st May 2012 - 11:50 am

Interesting news via The Times over the weekend :

Britain’s only listed accountancy firm is to close its specialist tax division in a move that will be regarded as another victory for Revenue & Customs against tax avoidance by the rich.

Posted in News | Also tagged prateek buch, RSM Tenon and tax | 2 Comments

“Budget 2012: new tycoon tax in victory for Nick Clegg”

By Mark Pack | Thu 22nd March 2012 - 9:11 am

“Budget 2012: new tycoon tax in victory for Nick Clegg” – so reports the Daily Telegraph:

In a significant victory for the Liberal Democrats, the Chancellor effectively introduced a 25 per cent minimum rate of tax in the Budget.

Under the changes, he will limit how much people offset their tax bills by investing in businesses or donating to charity.

Anyone seeking to claim more than £50,000 of tax relief in any one year will have a cap set at 25 per cent of their income from 2013.

Accountants said this means the wealthiest will have to pay at least 25 per cent of their income in tax. Although the highest rate of income tax is 50 per cent, reducing to 45 per cent next year, some wealthy people reduce their bills to almost nothing using different reliefs available from HM Revenue and Customs.

The introduction of this major change to the tax system is one of the main reasons why, as I wrote yesterday, if you are on more than £150,000, you will pay an extra £1,300 a year in tax on average as a result of this Budget.

As for what Labour would do on the 50p rate they seem to be flip and flopping with each new interview – sometimes saying they would reintroduce it if they had the chance tomorrow/next week, and sometimes not.

For more on the Budget see a couple of the media interviews I did yesterday – first on the News Channel and then on Radio 4:

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged budget, george osborne, nick clegg, tax and tax cuts (Lib Dem) | 10 Comments

Nick Clegg’s priorities for 2012

By Prateek Buch | Fri 6th January 2012 - 9:30 am

The Voice’s Mark Pack has been writing about the Party’s challenges in 2012 – as if on cue, leader Nick Clegg set out his priorities for Lib Dems in Government in a Radio 4 Today interview which you can hear in full here.

As reported in The Guardian, these priorities include tackling tax avoidance by both corporations and wealthy individuals, clamping down on excessive and undeserved top pay, and re-engaging with governments and business in Europe following the Prime Minister’s unhelpful showing in Brussels at the end of last year.

Pressed on how that re-engagement would materialise, Nick …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged bbc radio 4, high pay commission, Mark Pack, nick clegg and tax | 8 Comments

The Independent View: Rhetoric is not enough on tax dodging

By David Babbs | Thu 6th January 2011 - 11:50 am

The VAT rise will mean tighter purse strings for everyone, with the poorest being hardest hit. But there is an alternative which some sections of the media and certain politicians seem reluctant to talk about, let alone act on.

The £120bn tax gap is more than the NHS budget and over three times the budget for education. It dwarfs the £13bn brought in by the VAT increase. At a time when George Osborne is telling the British public that we’re all in this together, 38 Degrees members are calling on him to do more to make sure everyone plays by the …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged 38 degrees, george osborne and tax | 29 Comments

Government steps up action on tax avoidance

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th December 2010 - 8:25 pm

Though the timing is rather politically convenient, bringing welcome news for Liberal Democrats just ahead of the tuition fees vote, the substance of today’s news on tax avoidance is very welcome.

Two steps are being taken immediately with another three to follow and, crucially, a study into introducing a General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) has also been commissioned.

This review will be carried out by Graham Aaronson QC and consider whether “it could deter and counter tax avoidance, whilst providing certainty, retaining a tax regime that is attractive to businesses, and minimising costs for businesses and HMRC”.

The two immediate steps are:

Posted in News | Also tagged general anti-avoidance rule and graham aaronson | 12 Comments

Danny Alexander: £900m to fight tax avoidance and evasion

By Mark Pack | Sun 19th September 2010 - 3:56 pm

Sunday lunchtime saw Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander address Liberal Democrat conference. The packed nature of the hall, the fullest it had been so far save for the rally on Saturday night, reflects both the importance of Danny’s role and the interest from many members in hearing direct from him.

What’s really happening with the cuts? How much is fairness figuring? And can Danny present the message successfully? Not being David Laws is a burden that has hung over his early days in office and this speech was his opportunity to establish himself in party eyes as his own …

Posted in Conference | Also tagged Danny Alexander, tax and tax cuts (Lib Dem) | 31 Comments

Opinion: A Diminished Clarke – a picture of electoral calculation and desperation

By Ed Randall | Sat 24th April 2010 - 11:20 am

What Ken Clarke has been sent out to do (FT.com – requires registration) – and has been willing to do – diminishes him. It can hardly diminish his party.

Ken Clarke is a fervent European but he has been willing to return to the frontline of Tory politics. No doubt he believes he has done a deal…and he has calculated that he can hold back the forces of Euro-scepticism in the Tory party. The gag he is now prepared to wear, on European matters, is a measure of how unsound his judgement has become.

He has a point when he complains …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged eurosceptic, george osborne, imf, ken clarke, style and substance | 1 Comment

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We need a debate on Electoral Reform (Samuel Jackson)
Mathew on Monday: We must never deny the importance of soft power (Mathew Hulbert)
‘What is truth?’ (and why this matters to Liberal Democrats) (Mark Paine)
How to empty the hotels (Suzanne Fletcher)
Governments must do more for survivors of same-sex sexual assault (John Jewers)

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Ed and Emily Davey talk to This Morning about caring for their son

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Tag Archives: tax avoidance

20-22 January 2023 – the weekend’s press releases (part 2)

Daily View 2×2: 20 April 2020

The LDV debate: Should politicians release their tax returns? Part Two

The LDV debate: Should politicians release their tax returns? Part One

Julian Huppert writes… Clamping down on Tax Dodging

Opinion: Tackling tax avoidance should be a top manifesto issue

Eric Schmidt’s perplexity – a challenge to governments

LibLink: Vince Cable – We’ll hunt down the tax avoiders

Opinion: Avoid the Tax Avoiders!

Next week in the Lords… 10-14 December

Vince Cable criticises Starbucks over ‘tax dodging’

Alexander: We’ll get under the skin of tax avoiders

LibLink: Simon Hughes – This water tax trickery in the corporate sector is unacceptable

Opinion: Calling All Bloggers – Don’t make me a tax avoidance accomplice

Three intriguing opinion poll results that made me go, “Hmm, really?”

Lib Dem voters LEAST LIKELY to think Britain is best at cricket, MOST LIKELY to think we’re best at cycling

Sticking up for David Gauke and his tax-avoidance comments

Tory donor pays £2m to taxman after judge rules against Guernsey trust

Danny Alexander: pay tax as I say not as I do?

Liblink: Danny Alexander to tax dodgers – we are coming to get you!

Is the government’s crackdown on tax avoidance working?

“Budget 2012: new tycoon tax in victory for Nick Clegg”

Nick Clegg’s priorities for 2012

The Independent View: Rhetoric is not enough on tax dodging

Government steps up action on tax avoidance

Danny Alexander: £900m to fight tax avoidance and evasion

Opinion: A Diminished Clarke – a picture of electoral calculation and desperation

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Ed and Emily Davey talk to This Morning about caring for their son

What are Liberal Democrats looking for from the spending review?

URGENT: Why we need a statutory climate duty for councils

It's hard for trans people to feel Pride right now

Tag Archives: tax avoidance

Lib Dem voters LEAST LIKELY to think Britain is best at cricket, MOST LIKELY to think we’re best at cycling

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