steviedeluxe

[QUOTE=Lynn R;10046469] Fantastic post, karma given.

Beaverstate

Yes, thats true anywhere trouble is coming.

steviedeluxe

Another sign that a sector of Spanish society is doing ok despite the crisis

Number of Spanish tourists visiting Brazil increases 6%
http://www.hosteltur.com/182570_lleg...l-crece-6.html

At some point (unfortunately) taxes on flights are going to rise further, as governments realise it's a great way to increase revenue.

Dick Dasterdly

Well someone has to benefit from the fact that many of the usual destinations have become distinctly dodgy over the last year or two and I don't imagine that Argentina will be exactly the flavour of the month at present.

HBG

[QUOTE=Lynn R;10046469] I agree with your sentiments, but hard as I've tried I can't think of a single person who has been successful in life, and I'm talking about the big fish like Ashcroft and Murdoch and the millions of others, who have been honest on their way up the ladder.

The honest people stay on the bottom rung and if they try and climb up their honesty makes then fall off.

Dick Dasterdly

[QUOTE=HBG;10048952] I fancy there are some smart-arses at the top who have done little or nothing dishonest, but have been clever enough to exploit every tiny loophole in the law and some very big legal loopholes as well regarding such things as tax avoidance.

Likewise there are plenty still at the bottom of the ladder who are as bent as a three pound note, but too darned dumb ever to make the big-time.

Lynn R

[QUOTE=Dick Dasterdly;10049033] The point is that Governments in just about every country (with the exception of Germany where tax collection is supposedly very efficient), is perfectly well aware of these loopholes but does nothing to close them, will decide to cut higher rates of taxes "because people are finding ways not to pay it" and even reach deals with huge corporations that they don't pay a large proportion of the tax they owe. Whilst at the same time saying that support for the (genuine) unemployed, the (genuinely) sick and disabled, care for the elderly is too expensive and must be cut. And those who are finding ways to avoid paying the tax they should pay are cheering them on. It's obscene.

Equally strenuous efforts need to be made to cut out fraud on both sides of the equation - tax dodgers and benefit cheats alike. Then we might end up with a more sustainable system.

agoreira

Compared with a lot of the EU countries, the Spanish are not great travellers, most spend their holidays in Spain.
A Spanish guy I speak with from Galicia has visited UK over 50 times, and when I said about the weather, he said I don´t come for the weather, if that´s all I wanted, I´d go to Andalucia.

Dick Dasterdly

[QUOTE=Lynn R;10049749] So how do you deal with guys like this, the World master in tax avoidance ?

http://www.scancomark.se/Companies/K...ax-havens.html

Always at least one step ahead of anyone and everyone who may be trying to keep track of his activities, whilst paying hardly a brass farthing in tax on his gigantic profits and to hell with his staff whenever it suits him.

Lynn R

An excellent example. And is he regarded as a social pariah by the world's press and Government leaders - no, he is feted as a successful businessman and wealth creator. Certainly created a lot of it and wants to keep it all.

What makes me laugh is how much store countries in the developed world set (or say they do) by democracy. It's held up as the cornerstone of our civilised society and we do our utmost to bring about the fall of Communist states and dictatorships, just as Thatcher and Reagan did with Eastern Europe. So why, then, if democratically elected Governments decide that companies and individuals should pay tax at certain rates, are they complicit in allowing many of their citizens to get away with not paying? The UK HMRC has come to cosy "arrangements" with some large companies to effectively say OK, we know you really owe xbillion, but we'll allow you to pay only ybillion instead. There isn't even the excuse that money is stashed away and financial dealings hidden in shadowy holding companies, they know all about it and STILL they don't make them pay.

You could always all join me in a boycott of IKEA stores - I've never bought so much as a meatball in one and never will.

Domino

[QUOTE=Dick Dasterdly;10049979] Well add to that Philip Green of BHS etc fame - all his shares are in the name of his wife (so he had better not upset her) and she never leaves Monte Carlo. He travels to the UK each week with a finely tuned itinerary.

Also the Candy Brothers of stupid buildings fame, at least 10 UK registered co's but only paid dividends. Also living in Monte Carlo.

I think we can leave out the likes of Phil Collins and Nigel Mansell who at least have done some work for their £millions.

.

jackytoo

You could say that Green provides a lot of jobs...he could just withdraw his investments and play the markets from another country.

Did\doesn't Phil Collins live in Switzerland

Dick Dasterdly

Little point ranting on about it.
It's a case of supply and demand and no doubt business will continue as normal.
In todays global economy more than ever, there'll always be unethical companies and individuals looking for any loophole they can find to avoid tax. Likewise there'll always be morally (but certainly not financially) bankrupt countries like Switzerland, happy to take full advantage of whatever is on offer, be it Nazi loot or the trappings of todays global economy and rich celeb culture.

HBG

Greed and power, or the other way round, cannot ever be linked to any kind of honesty. Wealth, unless it is inherited or won on the lottery, can only be got through dishonesty, even if it just means putting the lot in your wife's name so you don't have to pay tax on it.

The clever ones can be very subtle about their dishonesty, giving large amounts to charity, rather than pay tax on it, and then slinking into the back door of the House of Lords, smothered in ermine and a string of medals. Lord Archer comes to mind, a liar down to his bones.

And another liar, Anthony of the Sword of Damocles fame. It's nice to see them, very occasionally, brought to justice, perhaps one in a million of them.

Lynn R

Well there's at least one very rich man, Warren Buffett, who has strongly criticised a system that would allow him to pay less tax than his cleaner. I can respect a man like that and I don't begrudge him his wealth.

As for the rest of them, if I were in Government I would recruit a team of 15 year old computer hackers - they would have chapter and verse on their shady dealings within days if not hours. Then I'd authorise them to hack into their tax haven bank accounts and transfer the amount of tax they should have paid into the Exchequer's account, with 10% on top as a fine which the hacker gets to keep.