Is it wrong to avoid paying tax?

"She said she had been under the impression that Mr Sloane was guilty of tax evasion – which is illegal – rather than a tax-avoidance scheme that had been ruled inadmissible by judges, who ordered gains from it repaid to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)."

It was an aggressive tax avoidance scheme, you know, the sort Osborne and Cameron said they were going to crack down on, the sort that Jimmy Carr et al. were pilloried for.

What I am saying, POGS, is that it's a question of scale.

There are stories to be found on ALL parties and I think that's what people are saying durhamjen.

For every story posted about a conservative there is another one that can be attributed to a Labour MP.

It's just a never ending circle really.

Why should it go to HMRC? It's not illegal.

This is brilliant.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/charlotte-leslie-tory-mps-sudden-change-ofheart-over-taxavoidance-donor-10052385.html?origin=internalSearch

She thought he was evading but he's just avoiding, so keeping it herself when really it should go to HMRC.

I did not say a shadow minister can't have a poor record in opposition. I specifically asked if a shadow chancellor could. A shadow chancellor does not have any money to spend.

But in that case the article about Balls is actually about two shadow chancellors. I prefer the one who said that you should get receipts if you pay cash, to the one who says you should try to avoid paying tax and paying for your care when you get old.

Hmm...the thought did cross my mind, but I dismissed it. Matthew Norman wouldn't want to run the risk of pedants like me anyone thinking he'd actually made an all-too-common error.

Yes jingl I think so.
But perhaps it was accidentally-on-purpose, to convey a subliminal impression of George Osborne as a slithery, untrustworthy snake

. Should have been 'sliver' shouldn't it?

Yes, very witty, but is 'slither' really the word he meant to use? (At least Osborne showed a slither of self-awareness...)

Janeainsworth

I love that article. It made me smile, very humourous, I had read it before but I don't know how to put a link up.

Just for interest it has a bash at Osborne and Balls but it is so witty.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/what-was-ed-balls-thinking-was-he-thinking-at-all-10052268.html

Matthew Norman thinks that Ed Balls' Shadow Chancellorship could cost Ed Miliband the keys to No 10.

Why can't a shadow minister have a poor record in opposition jen?
They are still speaking in Parliament, appearing on TV, writing newspaper articles and so on.

That is not a personal attack on you by the way, any more than Gillys comments were.

No, I said that people are easily sidetracked, and that he should not have mentioned window cleaners.
Can a chancellor have a poor record in opposition? He cannot actually do anything about the economy, can he, in opposition?

What do you think about Osborne's record?
He hasn't hit any of his forecasts, has he? And he is in charge of our economy.

Sorry Durham, I didn't say that people are easily sidetracked.

I said, Ed Balls had detracted from the real debate about big money.

And what a fool he was to do so ....... unfortunately, he's a crap Shadow Chancellor with a poor record in office and opposition.

Just to remind you again, I haven't voted Labour since Tony Blair took over.

nhaspace.com/2015/02/15/its-time-to-end-political-corruption/

Yes it was, Riverwalk, but like you say, people are too easily sidetracked.
The bankers and richlist boys must be laughing at the way the papers portray the tax problems and let them off the hook.
I do not see that we have to discuss the lowest common denominator, though.
I always try to remember who owns the papers.
Peter Oborne has at last found his backbone.

Gillybob, some of your posts sound very much like attacking me.
I do not think raking up the home flipping, which was dealt with by the last government, gets anybody any brownie points.
Alistair Darling? John Bercow? Michael Gove? George Osborne?
They all flipped their homes and avoided any penalties. Never even had to pay any capital gains tax. Completely wrong, but I do not see how it helps anyone in thinking about the next elections.
I am listening to News24 where they keep telling us that average earnings have gone up. Only once have they said that the numbers include bank bonuses. I wonder what one man getting a £3 million bonus does for the average man in the street.
This is the big picture, not Ed Balls window cleaner.

I don't think anyone is "attacking you" durhamjen quite the contrary I would say.

The thing that you don't seem to want to acknowledge is that they have almost all been caught out in one way or another, whether it be avoiding taxes, claiming non existant expenses etc.

To be fair Durham, wasn't it Ed Balls who started the hedge-cutting/ window cleaning debate?

And what a fool he was to do so - it's detracted from the really serious problem of multi-nationals and the mega-rich hiding their money offshore/hiring smart-arse accountants.

Oh no what are you saying POGS? Surely the Labour MP's aren't at it too?

Strange how people attack me for supporting the truth. He's not my poster boy but I do not like people being attacked for saying things he did not say. As I pointed out, even the DM admitted it was a non-story, and that he was not lying about his window cleaner as he did not pay cash.
I find it quite sad that when it's a very important election coming up, people have to resort to pathetic stories rather than think about the important things, like are we going to have an NHS if the Tories get back in; are we going to have anyone working for councils, collecting taxes, etc.
Much more important than trying to find out who cleans Ed Balls windows.

What is your opinion of MP's fliiping homes DJ.

Oh dear I'm so sorry for throwing a virtual punch at your poster boy durhamjen I don't doubt he is as squeaky clean as his windows.

From the Daily Mail, just to save you looking.

"A spokesman for Mr Balls last night said his practice of demanding receipts applied only to jobs where he pays in cash.

He pointed out that Mr Balls pays his window cleaner by cheque and receives handwritten invoices every few months.

The spokesman said: ‘As Ed said, he asks for receipts when paying in cash for work done so that, as Shadow Chancellor, he knows he has a written record.

‘Needless to say, a cheque obviously means both sides have a written record of the transaction.

‘Ed’s window cleaner sends a bill every few months and he pays them by cheque. He’s done this for 17 years with the same local business."

What a non-story.
Balls said you should ask for a receipt if paying cash in hand. He does not pay cash in hand, he pays by bank transfer or by cheque. Therefore he does not need a receipt written out from his window cleaner. He has confirmation of payment in his bank account.

Some people need to get their facts right before attacking, as usual.

As the old saying goes, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Balls really does live up to his name.