All Equal in the Eyes of the Law (except Barclays)

It is a long standing principle that we are all equal in the eyes of the law. However, this principle has been forgotten in recent years, as successive governments have sought to be friendly to business, without making the distinction between freedom of enterprise, and the commission of criminal acts.

Arrest Jimmy Carr!

Arrest Jimmy Carr!

It’s time to stop messing around on this one. Jimmy Carr wasn’t doing tax avoidance, that’s when you put money in an ISA. What he was doing was tax evasion, that’s when you dishonestly avoid paying the tax that you owe.

He put his money in an account of a company in the tax haven of Jersey and then had that company pay him his money back in a loan. He said he didn’t need to pay tax on that because it was a loan. I say that’s a big lie.

The reason he tried his luck in this way is because the Inland Revenue have traditionally been frightened of scaring off wealthy people by being too aggressive. So the wealthy use these dodgy schemes, and then when the IR come to speak to investigate, the wealthy negotiate how much they’re going to pay in tax.