The Truth Behind Traingate

Have any posters worked for a Nationalised industry?
I had only worked in the private sector of my trade ( printing) but then I took the job of managing the printing dept. of Eastern National Bus Company.
I was horrified at the waste of money. I fought for years to make my dept. operate as efficiently as I could, but had to give up and join the other heads of dept. who would say:
"Why bother" They were right, you won't/can't beat that nationalised industry mentality.

Yes bags to a degree I think you are right, but as long as there are accountants making massive amounts from flogging their avoidance schemes to any company keen to avoid tax, it will exist. What the government needs to do is to make it as difficult as possible for accountancy/companies to exploit.

We know that the government has actively avoided (get it[smile) closing some doors - after being lobbied by interested parties.

trish has a point.

petra it would help to have some evidence really and then your opinion would be much better supported

Yes petra. I've worked exclusively in the private sector but spent time working with government bodies and departments over the years.
The culture is massively different and the waste is extraordinary. It's a different world.

Evidence of waste in the public sector ww? Use google!

The Virgin Islands is a British protectorate, like most of the tax havens. Why do you think they are called the British Viregin Islands?
And yes, people on here do say that it's acceptable, including you, Baggs.
I don't think tax avoidance or evasion are acceptable. It's the spirit of the law that should be obeyed, not just the letter of the law.

I worked for a company in Sheffield whose welders did work for BSC (British Steel Co). They were always describing wastefulness that they witnessed at BSC sites, sometimes running to thousands of pounds worth of steel being "done wrong". Anecdotal but still...

I think there might well be less concern about waste in nationalised industries merely because there is no boss who'll have to account to his/her shareholders if their dividends are less than expected.

Where did I say, without qualification, that tax avoidance is "acceptable"? Seriously, if I did I want to know where.

I don't think British Protectorate means the UK govt has any say in tax protectorate tax laws.

I am afraid that I have to challenge both of you in your assertions.

I have friends and relatives and myself experience of both. I simply don't recognise your opinions.

In my opinion, the larger the corporation the larger the Waste.

people working in government departments work equally as hard if not harder than those in the private sector. There will be waste but proportionately no more than you would find in a large company.

It is a myth I'm afraid.

"British law makes a distinction between a protectorate and a protected state. Constitutionally the two are of similar status where Britain provides controlled defence and external relations. However, a protectorate has an internal government established, while a protected state establishes a form of local internal self-government based on the already existing one."

Wiki

That post was to primrose and petra

Prove it's a myth. It certainly isn't a myth that welders made the comments I described.

uk.businessinsider.com/british-virgin-islands-a-tax-haven-or-legitimate-business-hub-2017-6

No more than you can prove there is less waste in private sector.

It is all opinion. And in my view myth

The larger thing may hold. But aren't nationalised industries generally quite large? Look at BR: divided into lots of smaller units when privatised.

Perhaps it isn't such a bad idea to section off parts of the NHS if large is cumbersome and inefficient? Please note, I'm not saying it is a good idea but what you just said, ww, is the first argument I've heard that makes me think it's not entirely a bad idea to cut service providers in thr NHS into smaller chunks.

OKAY, i'm fine with myth on both sides.

Isn't that's what happened in the NHS? Smaller chunks I mean?

I don,t think it matters for the purposes of this thread whether BVI is a tax haven or not. I think we all agree that it behaves like one. That's not really the issue. The issue being discussed is whether there is any justification for the existence of tax havens. Some people think absolutely no, never. Others think maybe, maybe not.

Well smaller chunks of NHS seems to be what people are complaining about (generally, not just on GN) when they are objecting to services being contracted out.

If we go along with the idea that tax havens are a good idea. Then I think we have to argue why they are.

So the question then is have the smaller chunks made for less waste?

I would agree Baggs

If the larger the corporation, the larger the waste then you would certainly want to break the NHS up, but without losing benefits from economies of scale.

"Legally avoiding paying tax is a game and it's a game that governments, including Labour ones, encourage because it actually has benefits for encouraging business and enterprise. Why would governments allow it if it were not beneficial in some way?"

This gives the impression that it's acceptable. It certainly does not say that it is unacceptable, which is my opinion.