I'm not saying he'd lie about it just asking how it works because I've never heard of anyone doing that before. I know you could say that it's a business expense, so the business would pay for it, but I thought it would just come off taxable income. If he then gifts it to someone I'd have thought there were tax implications there as well. I'd be surprised if a business could buy, for example, a £1m property, spend nowt for it because of tax, give it to someone for nowt, and they were just allowed to sell it and keep the profits and then keep doing it year after year. I wasn't accusing you or him of lying, just wondered how they made it work legally because it sounds like a fairly major loophole! I'm just interested in how that stuff works
If That is true as derby days are class but I'd laugh my cock off if they ****ed up went bust and had to come back as another club.
He might say he sells the car to his son for a large loss to the taxman. Didn't go into detail, all I know is every year he has a brand new Mercedes and his son who works for him has a year old Mercedes. I asked why he had a brand new car every year and why his son has last years car. What I said was the explanation he gave me. Believe me he is not a spendthrift by any means, despite making a very good living and he would not waste money on cars like that without an ulterior motive.
I'm an accountant. The very most tax he'd save would be about half of the cost of the car (his tax rate effectively). So it's still costing him at least half a car every year. Then there are rules about selling to connected parties which means it should effectively have been sold at market value and he'd pay tax on that sale so at that point he'd lose a lot of the tax saved.
If I was your mate I'd be very wary of investigation from HMRC. Sounds like he's hired a cheap accountant who doesn't know what he's doing, and in effect (whether intentional or not) is committing tax fraud. There are rules in place to prevent everything you've said about in your post
As I said earlier, that is what he told me. I have known the bloke since infant school, I am now 55, and have never known him to tell me a lie in that half a century. What would he have to gain by lying to me, and what would I have to gain by repeating it on here. As an accountant, can you explain to me why a company that sells rolls of wallpaper for £80 a roll ( former chancellor George Osborne's family firm Osborne & Little) has not paid a penny in tax since 1997? Apparently they "do not make a profit". How is this company that has allegedly not made a penny in almost a quarter of a century still in business?
I don't know anything about this company but from a quick look at the Companies House records, it has paid tax (see below) but not much in the past decade because it has made a loss every year (it happens). I guess it's a bit like the fashion industry, if you get it wrong, sales plummet. It is currently living off substantial profits made years ago, on which it would have paid a lot of tax.
A cynical mind (obviously not mine) might think that Osborne & Little's accountants were pretty shrewd, and having contacts in positions of power helped to find any potential "loopholes". A swanky dinner at the Ivy Restaurant buttering up HMRC top brass followed by an offer to pay the equivalant of the average tax bill of a self employed bricklayer, and Bob's your uncle. I must reiterate that those would be the opinions of a person of a cynical disposition and not my own. I firmly believe that Osborne and Little are an upright company that always pays their fair share of tax.
No he isn't as he wouldn't own them if he was leasing them, he gives the car to his son when he gets a new one, not possible if it isn't yours to give away, such as a leased car. I see the cars and I see his son driving the ones his dad had the year previous. Why can people not just believe what other people say on here? My life is not so pathetic that I need to fabricate stories on a website. Christ I am starting to have some sympathy for Stewart Donald now
Fair enough he's buying the car every year but he will not be getting them free as he has told you. Let's say for example he gets a new Mercedes E class every year, that's a 40k plus car and he claims them 100% against his profits, gives his son the car for nowt and repeats the process every year. He's pulling your chain.
Whether you believe me, or by extrapolation, him, am not particularly bothered either way. Think what you like, that is your prerogative. Please extend me the same privelege.
Am I allowed to ask, when the son sells the 2 year old car every year, who happens to the money he receives from the sale? Do you know if the money goes back into his Fathers company as profit on his yearly accounts? Just asking like.
The son is supposed to buy the car off his dad, but after a few payments his dad lets him off with the rest (he is spoilt) so gets it for buttons. What he sells the other car for am not proxy to. Would it be easier for you if I just give you the both of them's phone numbers and you can conclude your investigation more satisfactorily?
I agree half my family are mag supporters... but I would have to confess that I would be doing lots of fun taking the pizz
I've just been having a chat with my daughters accountant, he's UK based and works with small to medium sized businesses. I showed him your original post, I copied the text so he doesn't know where it has come from, he just laughed and called it bullshit.