23 June.

Exactly, Daphne. They can use their money how they want, providing they pay their taxes first.
They must realise by now that paying taxes will get them more kudos than philanthropy.
How many billions do they need to live on?

Elegran, I'm not disputing that the company is based in Bristol and I'm sure it operates perfectly legally. However, Stephen Lansdown has now resigned. His personal net worth is $1.88 billion. As a private citizen living in Guernsey, he won't pay UK tax on any interest from the money. Giving the money to Bristol sport is better than buying a yacht or an island, that's for sure - I would love to have that option.

What bothers be (and I don't know if Stephen Lansdown comes into this category) is that some very wealthy people avoid paying tax, which could pay for hospitals, schools, pensions, libraries, social care, etc. Given the choice, I would personally want the money to go to public services rather than a sports stadium - I thought that's what democracy is supposed to be about. This might be all well and good if it weren't for the fact that the burden is falling on those least able to pay. Public services are being decimated under our noses and there are people in this country who can't afford basics to live a simple life.

I'm also bothered when money = political power, as it does with Arron Banks. He's made money from the lax regulation of the financial services industry and then uses his money (£1,000,000 of it) to push his own political agenda. I'm afraid that form of 'democracy' rings warning bells for me.

Daphne, it's in the Magna Carta about London having special rights.

"And the City of London is to have all its ancient liberties and free customs,
both on land and water."

It's one of only three clauses from the original still there.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015/12/06/three-ways-to-stop-the-cadburys-tax-abuse/

This is how companies use the Channel Islands for tax abuse.

And I have no idea how he will vote in the referendum

He may have made a lot of money - legally - but has given a lot back to the city:

www.bristol-sport.co.uk/about/

(if anyone is interested)

Stephen Lansdown was a founder member of Hargreaves and Lansdown, but is no longer listed among the key personnel, ( www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/h/hargreaves-lansdown-plc-ordinary-0.4p/company-information ) He moved "recently" to Guernsey, so presumably was paying UK taxes before then.

The company is based in Bristol, so it does not come under Guernsey company tax law.

I'm not doubting you. I really am not accusing them of doing anything illegal, but they have a duty to their clients to make as much money as possible from investments. UK laws allow people to avoid tax on investments by perfectly legal means, whereas other countries in the EU have much tighter laws. I can't blame anybody for wanting to pay as little tax as possible, but I also think that the system is wrong when it allows the mega-rich to use loopholes in the law. This government in particular has no incentive to close the loopholes. According to Wiki, Stephen Lansdown now lives in Guernsey, so won't have to pay any UK tax. I think tax systems are wrong when somebody as rich as Warren Buffett can state he pays a lower percentage of tax on his income than his cleaner and the UK seems to be following the US model.

I always thought Hargreaves Lansdown was a perfectly respectable firm of stockbrokers which very many people use to invest for their futures.

Jalima, I didn't mean him specifically, but he wouldn't have been doing his job if he hadn't known every loophole in the book. There's a very fine line between tax evasion and avoidance and I'm not suggesting he was doing anything illegal, although personally I think both are immoral. The UK government doesn't have the will to change laws, whereas the EU has shown more willingness. The EU gave the City special exemptions and, contrary to popular belief, the UK is still in control of its currency and financial laws. There is pressure from the EU to impose measures such as country by country reporting on the UK, which make tax avoidance more difficult. I'm afraid I don't know the finer details, but I listen to friends who are economists who do know how it works.

I had never put Peter Hargreaves or Stephen Lansdown in the category of 'dodgy dealer'.
Stephen Lansdown in particular may have made a fortune by investing but has ploughed a lot of it back into Bristol sport.

The reason that people in the financial services industry, which Banks is and Hargreaves was, is that the EU wants tightening up of the City and has more of an appetite for stopping tax avoidance/evasion than the UK has. I don't know enough about finance to understand the details, but I know that the City is protected to some extent from EU regulations, which makes dodgy dealings possible and is partly why London is such an attractive market for investors. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of the profit doesn't make its way to UK plc via taxes.

I also guess it's partly about power for these individuals. Banks is a billionaire, but is threatening to withdraws funding from UKIP, because he doesn't like Carswell, who is UKIP's only democratically elected MP. I have a very bad feeling about people who think they can 'buy' politicians. Lord Ashcroft was the same with the Conservatives.

I think both Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown have left Hargreaves Lansdown, not sure if they both still own a percentage.

I also wonder if Cameron gave such a big lead in to the referendum is so that both groups can amass lots of billions for the campaign before the April deadline.
Did you read the bit about Banks leaving the Tory party and going to give UKIP £100,000 before Hague said he hadn't heard of him. So he gave them a million instead!

petra, the guy called Elvis in fish shop was a liar!!!

I wonder if one of the reasons he left Hargreaves Lansdown was because the board itself wants to stay in.

I have read that not one of the chairs of the FTSE100 companies signed the letter to leave.

Interesting about Hargreaves. I note he has resigned from Hargreaves Lansdown.

I would like to know how he squares what he says with the fact that the pound lost value after Boris joined Brexit.

petra I think the fishermen are the ones to ask, although the chippy owner may have an ear to what they're thinking!

That's interesting about Banks because I believe Peter Hargreaves has also joined the Brexit campaign (an ex-stockbroker also Bristol based).

uk.businessinsider.com/hargreaves-lansdown-founder-peter-hargreaves-backs-brexit-2016-3

theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-integrated-are-young-eu-migrants-into-the-uk-workforce-56714

This is a very interesting analysis of the immigrant workforce in the UK.
It's split into where they are from, what jobs they do and how qualified they are.

If the EU, the biggest trading block in the world with a market of over 500m people, is so easy to get free trade agreements with, why do thousands of overseas companies base their production that supports millions of UK jobs here in the UK?
Could it be that we are a gateway to the EU? We would lose that gateway if we left the EU.

petra - it's Elvis down the chip shop, isn't it? He'll know.

durhamjen. I'll ask the bloke down the fish shop. I think he's more truthful than any MP.

If it is so easy to negotiate trade deals with the EU, why has it taken Canada 7 years to negotiate to date, and why are Norway and Switzerland paying pound for pound as much as we are to trade with the EU whilst still having to accept EU regulations including free movement of people?
Told to me by my MP.

POGS, No need to be rude!

Bananas from Madeira are the wrong size and shape for the European market. They are commonly known as Lady Finger Bananas, which are smaller than the bananas we normally find in supermarkets. I take Jalima's word for it that they're delicious, but European consumers want bigger and cheaper bananas. This has nothing to do with EU laws on bendy bananas (or any other type of banana), but market demand.