Does anyone believe Nadhim Zahawi?

Maggieanne

Did I hear that there was something fishy about the planning of his property and that something shouldn't have been allowed?

The fishy part was that it has “Agricultural Use” restriction, which made it cheap because it was not mortgageable, so the livery business was established to satisfy planning and the Gibraltar loan paid for it.

At least he pays more tax than Sunaks wife I suppose….

Maggieanne

Did I hear that there was something fishy about the planning of his property and that something shouldn't have been allowed?

Yes in the Cotswolds.

It never ends.

And maybe

Yes, and it wasn’t until he became HMRC boss that the case was agreed. One suspects pressure, I suspect he got off lightly.

Did I hear that there was something fishy about the planning of his property and that something shouldn't have been allowed?

Have I got this right? He was over HMRC at a time when he was being investigated by and fined by HMRC and yet they need an inquiry to see if that was a conflict of interest/a breaking of the ministerial code?

Not a mistake and if it is a mistake he shouldn't be in the job. I work two jobs and currently believe Im underpaying this tax year. I suspect it already and the tax year not over. Obviously not millions but estimate £100-£200. I know this. He knew and like I said, if he didn't, he too careless to have his job.

Yes, please.

Fleurpepper

Whitewavemark2

I seem that according to the Telegraph, that it is accepted now by the Tory party (not all of them surely?) that Brexit is a disaster and should never have been

Lot I could say, but it would be too rude.

As it is behing paywall, is there any chance we could se the whole article, please?

Saw it on twitter! I think. I’ll try to find it, it might be on the BBC site.

Whitewavemark2

I seem that according to the Telegraph, that it is accepted now by the Tory party (not all of them surely?) that Brexit is a disaster and should never have been

Lot I could say, but it would be too rude.

As it is behing paywall, is there any chance we could se the whole article, please?

Not sure if that has been posted- but it is hard to watch

twitter.com/BestForBritain/status/1617587212513574913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1617587212513574913%7Ctwgr%5Edd70c0256d8cda748d0670279c14441b100f14d8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thelondoneconomic.com%2Fpolitics%2Fzahawi-being-probed-on-his-tax-affairs-as-chancellor-makes-for-painful-viewing-342377%2F

I seem that according to the Telegraph, that it is accepted now by the Tory party (not all of them surely?) that Brexit is a disaster and should never have been

Lot I could say, but it would be too rude.

Mokeswife

NO! Why can't we go for a vote of no confidence in this shower and just get shot of them before it's too late?

We cannot 'go for a vote of no confidence' because after having been idiotic enough to vote to leave the EU, voters then compounded their idiocy by voting for 'get Brexit done' and installing not only the most appalling PM the UK has ever had but also giving the tories such a big majority of seats in the House of Commons that they can never be voted down by the rest of the MPs. That rules out an opposition vote of no confidence. The tories themselves will not initiate one because they are determined to hang onto power until the bitter end.

I don't think people actually understand how powerless everyone is to get rid of them until the next General Election. By which time they will have broken the UK so thoroughly that it will take years to recover.

NO! Why can't we go for a vote of no confidence in this shower and just get shot of them before it's too late?

Iam64

foxie48

grandtanteJE65 T "If a reputable firm of chartered accountants can make such an elementary mistake, then I suppose Zahwi's may have done something similar."

This keeps being said, but if accountants make a mistake having been given ALL the relevant information by the tax payer, the tax payer is required to pay the unpaid tax but WILL NOT be required to pay a penalty.

This
Varian puts it well - he reminds me of a con man. In fact, he always has.

He strikes me as a man who made a lot of money but didn't want to pay the proper tax on his profit, came up with something that he thought would avoid his tax liability and got caught out. I'm pretty sure if he had run the idea past his accountants or discussed it with HMRC, they would have told him that it was a non runner so he didn't! I don't think he's fit for public office and he should resign.

Katie59

No connection with a company in Gibraltar, yet——

Mr Zahawi makes reference throughout the MPs’ register to Zahawi & Zahawi, a family firm whose holdings include his constituency home, a 31-acre estate in Warwickshire which boasts its own livery stables. The property was bought, entirely legitimately, in 2011 using a loan from a company based in the tax haven of Gibraltar.

Might be an entirely different company in Gibraltar of course!.

I know, I know ... irrelevant. But it does remind me of those who resented the fact Keir Starmer had bought his very handicapped mother a small donkey sanctuary, and how some castigated him for it. And then those who say 'they are all the same!'

foxie48

*grandtanteJE65 T* "If a reputable firm of chartered accountants can make such an elementary mistake, then I suppose Zahwi's may have done something similar."

This keeps being said, but if accountants make a mistake having been given ALL the relevant information by the tax payer, the tax payer is required to pay the unpaid tax but WILL NOT be required to pay a penalty.

This
Varian puts it well - he reminds me of a con man. In fact, he always has.

grandtanteJE65 T "If a reputable firm of chartered accountants can make such an elementary mistake, then I suppose Zahwi's may have done something similar."

This keeps being said, but if accountants make a mistake having been given ALL the relevant information by the tax payer, the tax payer is required to pay the unpaid tax but WILL NOT be required to pay a penalty.

His position is untenable. He is dead man walking. Still, it’s a good dead cat strategy to divert attention away from the Chairman of the BBC and Johnson’s* loan.
* who still seems to get away with everything….

Latest updates indicate that Number 10's support is diminishing. PMQ's could be electric again tomorrow.

I have always regarded Zahawi as one of the better apologists who was from time to time, sent on to do media interviews in defence of some utterly disgraceful Tory policy.

Watching him on BBC Breakfast or listening to him on LBC, I thought "this guy is sounding so plausible - he could be a used car salesman"

No - not a used car salesman, I'm sure some of them are decent people. He sounded like a con-man.

No connection with a company in Gibraltar, yet——

Mr Zahawi makes reference throughout the MPs’ register to Zahawi & Zahawi, a family firm whose holdings include his constituency home, a 31-acre estate in Warwickshire which boasts its own livery stables. The property was bought, entirely legitimately, in 2011 using a loan from a company based in the tax haven of Gibraltar.

Might be an entirely different company in Gibraltar of course!.

It does seem an unlikely mistake to make, but whether it is or not depends on how large his income is, and how competent his accountant.

I worked at a school that employed a very well-regarded firm of accountants that actually based the school's annual outgoings on the month of the previous year where there had been fewest bills to pay!

The staff-room resounded to our laughter when we heard that, as all and every teacher in the school worked out his or her budget by adding up the outgoings for the whole year and dividing the total by 12.

Thus we arrived at the amount to transfer to the account we paid our bills from. And we weren't all mathematicians, and certainly not accountants.

If a reputable firm of chartered accountants can make such an elementary mistake, then I suppose Zahwi's may have done something similar.

People are jailed for tax evasion, not tax avoidance. We don’t yet know enough, other than third hand, which applies here.

In 1987 Leslie Piggott, the chanpion jockey was jailed for 3 years for defrauding HMTC of £3 million

Lester Piggott and Boris Becker too - prison sentences for much less.