Panama tax evasion

[Shades75]

It's not defeatist to say it's not clever for Stephen Hawking to try to beat Amir Khan at boxing.

That's clever. I like it.

Not close to being an equitable analogy, but clever all the same.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

"ach well, back under the rock we go. We know our place.....sir."

What a defeatist, melancholic, forelock tugging disaster of a post.

Anything but forelock tugging - it's pointing out that there will always be people who exploit a system no matter what that system is. When it comes to self-interest human beings tend to be very very creative.

[Fide]

You imply that, by merely being Scottish, Scottish politicians are good, honest, moral people. The actions of the independent MP Michelle Thomson would suggest otherwise.

 

Aaah, this old chestnut.  You will of course, be able to point me to one thing that Michelle Thomson has done wrong or been charged with?

[kevthedee]

Aaah, this old chestnut. You will of course, be able to point me to one thing that Michelle Thomson has done wrong or been charged with?

If she was a mp from another party would your view be the same,or would you just pre-judge her guilt.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Aaah, this old chestnut. You will of course, be able to point me to one thing that Michelle Thomson has done wrong or been charged with?

And you will of course be able to point me to one thing that David Cameron has done wrong or been charged with?

[Glenconner]

And you will of course be able to point me to one thing that David Cameron has done wrong or been charged with?

Done wrong.

Does breathing count?

[Fide]

If she was a mp from another party would your view be the same,or would you just pre-judge her guilt.

 

Hush, child.

 

And you will of course be able to point me to one thing that David Cameron has done wrong or been charged with?

 

1) Would you like a list?

2) I didn't mention Dishface so not sure what that has to do with the point I made.

[Ad Lib]

That's clever. I like it.

Not close to being an equitable analogy, but clever all the same.

The point is you don't fight battles you can't win. You focus your energies on the ones you can. We can't stop tax avoidance or greed but we can make the rules harder to exploit.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Hush, child.

1) Would you like a list?

2) I didn't mention Dishface so not sure what that has to do with the point I made.

One word. Morals. Something that both Cameron and Thomson lack.

Or do you believe what Thomson (and Cameron) did was morally sound?

[Suspect Device]

Anybody else think that we should be like some other countries and make everyone's tax return freely available online?

Not sure it would solve everything because people would still hide things offshore but I like the idea of full openness as much as possible.

[strichener]

Anybody else think that we should be like some other countries and make everyone's tax return freely available online?

Not sure it would solve everything because people would still hide things offshore but I like the idea of full openness as much as possible.

I would be in favour of this.  It works in Norway and in fact the years that I work there you can also see my UK income and tax as this has to be declared.

[Wee Willie]

Anybody else think that we should be like some other countries and make everyone's tax return freely available online?

Not sure it would solve everything because people would still hide things offshore but I like the idea of full openness as much as possible.

I would be in favour of this.  It works in Norway and in fact the years that I work there you can also see my UK income and tax as this has to be declared.

Sounds interesting but does it apply to everyone?

Can you see the tax returns of the king of Norway for example?

 

I would like tae see the tax returns of our f**king royals.

Just tae see how much money we throw at them.

Sarah Fergusons ex bought a Swiss chalet a couple of years ago.

Was that with taxpayers money or his numbered Swiss bank account?

[Ivo den Bieman]

I predict Cameron will limp on until the Euro referendum, then fold soon after. He'll be gone by party conference season.

 

This will run and run and run and seems likely to completely undermine the Tory party.

 

Just goes to show how unpredictable politics is. At Christmas the Tories seemed unassailable and were using that postion to force through hateful extreme right wing policies. Labour were a rancorous shambles.

 

Now it looks like the bigoted cabinet of millionaires might be on its way out sooner than anyone expected.

[Wee Willie]

I predict Cameron will limp on until the Euro referendum, then fold soon after. He'll be gone by party conference season.

 

This will run and run and run and seems likely to completely undermine the Tory party.

 

Just goes to show how unpredictable politics is. At Christmas the Tories seemed unassailable and were using that postion to force through hateful extreme right wing policies. Labour were a rancorous shambles.

 

Now it looks like the bigoted cabinet of millionaires might be on its way out sooner than anyone expected.

To be replaced by whom?

[Suspect Device]

To be replaced by whom?

The other cabinet of bigoted millionaires?

[Wee Willie]

The other cabinet of bigoted millionaires?

:lol:

[Ad Lib]

Anybody else think that we should be like some other countries and make everyone's tax return freely available online?

Not sure it would solve everything because people would still hide things offshore but I like the idea of full openness as much as possible.

No this is a terrible idea. It's none of the general public's business what anyone's income or personal wealth is. That's a private matter between the individual and HMRC.

Obviously this doesn't stop us knowing either in general terms how much the state pays people either on their payroll or under government contracts. Nor does it mean we don't have a public interest in knowing what conflicts of interest senior politicians and civil servants might have. But that's different from insisting that you get to know every last detail about David Cameron's financial arrangements and it certainly doesn't justify getting to snoop on the tax return of your neighbour to find out how much they earn.

I find it really creepy just how readily people will throw away privacy. It's going to be the biggest civil liberties battle of the 21st century and people are basically flouting every orifice inviting the state, strangers, criminals and corporations to snoop, profile and exploit them.

You don't know what you've got until you've lost it, it seems.

[BerwickMad]

Things do seem to be spiralling out of control for the Tories. Even though legally he hasn't done anything wrong (that we know of), mud sticks. His handling of it all has been awful. Osborne has already had a shocking month or two and the attention will turn to him soon on this. They're ripping each other apart on Europe. It has a feel of the end game for quite a few of them but unfortunately Labour aren't strong enough to hammer it home.

[strichener]

No this is a terrible idea. It's none of the general public's business what anyone's income or personal wealth is. That's a private matter between the individual and HMRC.

Obviously this doesn't stop us knowing either in general terms how much the state pays people either on their payroll or under government contracts. Nor does it mean we don't have a public interest in knowing what conflicts of interest senior politicians and civil servants might have. But that's different from insisting that you get to know every last detail about David Cameron's financial arrangements and it certainly doesn't justify getting to snoop on the tax return of your neighbour to find out how much they earn.

I find it really creepy just how readily people will throw away privacy. It's going to be the biggest civil liberties battle of the 21st century and people are basically flouting every orifice inviting the state, strangers, criminals and corporations to snoop, profile and exploit them.

You don't know what you've got until you've lost it, it seems.

 

If you go on this principle you will reach the conclusion that you have.  The question is should it be a private matter?

 

We currently share information with all different institutions around the world and yet we believe it to be private.

 

ETA: Previously, details of any criminal history was private and now it is freely available to employers and even partners (Clare's Law).  Are you suggesting that this is somehow sacrosanct or that we should have a greater right to privacy in our financial affairs?  Perhaps if these were all public record then we would be able to undertake a more informative position on who is avoiding tax and who isn't.  It is far more likely that you will know if your next door neighbours tax filings are representative of the lifestyle he leads.

[NotThePars]

Worth watching Daily Politics to see some Tory displaying some staggering lack of self-awareness as to why so much of the country fucking hates them.