Picked up a copy of the Times in the local Costa, and blow me if the white rabbit eater isn't front page news. "The Trouble with Monaco" was the headline (or something like that), with another 4-5 pages worth inside. Turned out it wasn't about KB at all (perish the thought) but about tax dodgers who live in Monaco to avoid paying £1bn a year in UK tax (which mugs like us have to make up of course). So not about KB at all, clearly. I don't know why he lives there but imagine he just likes the weather there. But its annoying stuff - a list of rich people, all donating to the Tories of course, who between them paid a max of 2p in UK income tax in the last decade (I may be overstating the problem a bit, for effect). Meanwhile the service to a close family member of mine on the NHS is total and utter crap, due to "funding issues". Wonder if there's a connection there?
Just playing Devil's advocate here for a wee bit, but let me give you a choice, live in Britain, or live in a fantastic city on the Mediterranean where you pay a fraction of the tax?
I'd pay tax over people thinking of me as a ****. I don't mind having some of my hard earned money taken to supplement a heroic institution such as the NHS. If it wasn't for these tax dodging ****ers, we wouldn't be paying as much tax as we do.
same here. Tax rate of max 50% (and even living in the UK they can fiddle that down lower) should not be a reason to go overseas. Its just avoiding contributing to the society that made you wealthy in the first place. Mind you, Simon, I take your point - I don't have millions to worry about so maybe its easy for me to be virtuous. Its interesting to read in the Times the long, long list of names of people who do live there.
It's easy if you're like you or me and you don't think about these things, but when you're in the situation these people are in you'd have to have a very strong moral conviction to not avoid giving away money where you can. I'd say it goes hand in hand with the idea that you don't become mega rich without being careful with your money. I'd say it's also very easy to point fingers at individuals who take perfectly legal and reasonable advantage of loopholes, rather than look at fixing the loopholes themselves.
I do not dodge my taxes... Why should I listen to the ramblings of a tax dodging cretin, who has a history of losing other peoples money.
Monaco is not just for Brits, its for anyone with the dosh to live in an exclusive society. Lewis Hamilton has moved there to avoid taxes, what's the chance you cheer him in every GP? Also, how can you state that all "these people" pay the tories to be able to dodge taxes? Monaco is a principality that set itself up to be an exclusive little country for millionaires, and their rules mean that 99% of people can't afford to live there. They have certain tax laws which mean you don't pay as much as other countries, but they don't need billions in taxes to run the place. This argument about tax dodging is silly. So what now? If a brit moves to Aus or USA we should call them tax dodgers because they don't pay tax here anymore? I wish these awful journalists would report the news rather than try and create stories that are nonsense! ****ing chip paper stuff, which is why it becomes chip paper.
I think the difference is that the people in question (The Times named some) are running UK based businesses, and come back to the UK as much as they can. They have not emigrated to Monaco in the same way that you or I might choose to emigrate to New Zealand. They are there for the tax benefits, still extracting their profits from the UK based citizens who ultimaterly fund their lifestyles. Moving on from Monaco, its not just individuals, some large corporations (a lot of them non UK multimationals) have huge presence in the UK, we all buy from them, yet they pay very little UK tax due them basing themselves in Ireland etc. and....obviously, KB is not a tax dodger, I would never suggest that. Some Monaco residents no doubt are there just for the lifestyle.
Tax is theft. Self-respecting men dodge theft where they can. The NHS and other government programmes are funded by the insane national debt, whose repayment will require the indentured labour of future generations. Good luck to anyone refusing/minimizing their tax bill.
The more those with money avoid tax, then the more those without money have to pay... Our National Debt is a disgrace, our future has been spent already.
