Fresh Attack On Offshores

[bluemonday]

Clicky

Nick Cohen describes tax havens as 'as inherently criminal' and claims they would 'go under without the proceeds of crime'.

[Albert Tatlock]

The regular knives are out yet again. However, this time government's seem to be going to extraordinary lengths to obtain data.

 

Question: How many people here in a position to do so are likely to turn down £100K, £1M or even £3M to obtain and sell such data to the UK and other governments - even though it would be an offence under the DPA? Probable Answer: Not many.

 

If I ran a financial institution here, I'd get busy auditing my systems and some of my staff and minimising access to data

 

This is industrial espionage to a whole new degree.

[pongo]

Nick Cohen is the trolls' troll - like a more intellectual version of Richard Littlejohn or Gary Bushell. He pretends to be a left winger but supports George W Bush.

 

Not to be confused with the excellent Nick Cohn, who wrote the book which became Saturday Night Fever.

[Declan]

I wonder if the events in that Jersey children's home will give these people another with which stick to beat the crown dependencies.

[Skeddan]

Clicky

Nick Cohen describes tax havens as 'as inherently criminal' and claims they would 'go under without the proceeds of crime'.

This claim in the Observer by Nick Cohen should be seen in light of an earlier article in the Observer clicky

the Isle of Man's 26,000 population is bailed out by UK taxpayers to the tune of £270m a year.

 

[thesultanofsheight]

You missed the obvious in your post

 

the Observer

 

Nick Cohen is one of those deluded Labour-loving muppets writing in a left wing paper who fail to realise that they can't support the Labour Government and criticise offshore centres at the same time anymore.

 

Why would this be?

 

Because £36bn of assets are sat in a Jersey trust which are linked to a bank owned by the British taxpayer, which was nationalized by a Labour Government, and that very same government owns Northern Rock Guernsey - an offshore subsidiary of a state bank that actively encourages deposits from UK residents who want to minimise their exposure to UK tax.

 

Oh and the same government that wants to do away with non domicile status now employs two - Ron Sandler and Ann Godbehere to run the Rock at the same time as claiming non dom status. Ann Godbehere jets in from her home in Switzerland to do a few days work whilst raking in a massive largely tax free salary.

 

They're a bunch of bloody hypocrites.

 

They can't attack offshore centres without questioning why the British taxpayer owns or is linked to all these offshore structures, particularly as the UK Government is now in the offshore banking business and actively taking new deposits in Guernsey

[cheeky boy]

Clicky

Nick Cohen describes tax havens as 'as inherently criminal' and claims they would 'go under without the proceeds of crime'.

 

 

I don't recall the Manx governemnt spending tax revenues on an illiegal war

 

People do not just avoid tax because they are greedy & selfish, most of us understand the need for taxes to pay for public services but when we see our hard earned money fritterd away it's not surprising that we choose not to donate to the EU or US Treasury

[triskelion]

Clicky

Nick Cohen describes tax havens as 'as inherently criminal' and claims they would 'go under without the proceeds of crime'.

 

 

I don't recall the Manx governemnt spending tax revenues on an illiegal war

 

People do not just avoid tax because they are greedy & selfish, most of us understand the need for taxes to pay for public services but when we see our hard earned money fritterd away it's not surprising that we choose not to donate to the EU or US Treasury

Hear, hear.

 

Someone should write a response: 'Labour voters are inherently criminal'

[La_Dolce_Vita]

Clicky

Nick Cohen describes tax havens as 'as inherently criminal' and claims they would 'go under without the proceeds of crime'.

 

 

I don't recall the Manx governemnt spending tax revenues on an illiegal war

 

People do not just avoid tax because they are greedy & selfish, most of us understand the need for taxes to pay for public services but when we see our hard earned money fritterd away it's not surprising that we choose not to donate to the EU or US Treasury

Hear, hear.

 

Someone should write a response: 'Labour voters are inherently criminal'

 

I am sceptical of the idea that people want to avoid tax because they don't want their money going to the EU. People generally don't want to pay taxes.

[Gladys]

I disagree, people generally accept that taxes must be paid; they just do not want to be penalised for being successful, which is why there was the 'brain drain' of the 70's.

 

But there are other reasons for people using offshore centres; political stability, removing assets from a hostile regime etc.

 

Offshore centres are part and parcel of most wealthy people's planning; the only way they will completely disappear is if we stop using money and return to barter - not very likely.

[P.K.]

I disagree, people generally accept that taxes must be paid; they just do not want to be penalised for being successful, which is why there was the 'brain drain' of the 70's.

Didn't Ray Davies pen "Sunny Afternoon" in the sixties? Anyway, what happened was folks like my parents paid their taxes so that youngsters in this country could be educated and trained as doctors and so forth. Once fully qualified they and other "professionals" then showed their gratitude for their "free" (well, to them anyway) education by letting their greed take them elsewhere thus leaving honest taxpayers like my parents to take the hit. It never ceases to amuse me how the average Daily Rail reader seems to be under the impression that they were forced to leave somehow - it's just pathetic.

 

People do not just avoid tax because they are greedy & selfish, most of us understand the need for taxes to pay for public services but when we see our hard earned money frittered away it's not surprising that we choose not to donate to the EU or US Treasury

But people DO avoid paying tax because they are greedy and selfish and their failure to understand the need for things like military action is hardly an excuse for non-payment now is it?

[La_Dolce_Vita]

I disagree, people generally accept that taxes must be paid; they just do not want to be penalised for being successful, which is why there was the 'brain drain' of the 70's.

 

Oh no, I agree with that, sorry what I meant to say is that people generally tend to moan about the tax they pay, viz. how much they pay, where the money is going.

 

But people DO avoid paying tax because they are greedy and selfish and their failure to understand the need for things like military action is hardly an excuse for non-payment now is it?

 

What sort of tax though, because income tax is very hard to avoid as it is levied before you receive your wages?

I very much understand some people's reasons for not paying tax or certain taxes when they have good political objections to it, but of course if they pay nothing then they shouldn't access public services. In the case of defence spending, I can understand a person's reluctance to pay a tax if their government was embarking on military action of which the individual did not agree with or if they did disagreed with the proportion of funding being put into the defence budget, but there is not a defence tax so the only justifiable means, in my mind, would be to pay a smaller proportion of income tax, which would be very difficult.

 

I do agree that higher earners and the rich who find effective ways of avoiding tax or paying less than they should are greedy and selfish.

[nipper]

I wonder if the events in that Jersey children's home will give these people another with which stick to beat the crown dependencies.

 

Events such as what is being discovered in Jersey would only be relevant if for example Jersey had made a law where it was acceptable to abuse children. In the Pitcairns Islands, where because they claim their sexual customs and laws are different from those in British, the Pitcairns claimed that children as young as 8 were not illegally abused.

 

Channel 4

 

Guardian

 

It may or may not be relevant that many of those involved in the Pitcairns case are direct descendants of Fletcher Christian, that famous Manxman (or non Manxman as many all of a sudden claimed). Anyway, in that case British Commonwealth Justice intervened.

 

So the dependencies can only push their 'independence' so far. Thank God for that because after what I have seen and experienced on the Isle of Man I would dread to think what some of the laws might be if our rich and powerful had a free reign. :(

[Skeddan]

In the Pitcairns Islands, where because they claim their sexual customs and laws are different from those in British, teh Pitcairns claimed that children as young as 8 were not illegally abused.

 

Channel 4

 

Guardian

 

It may or may not be relevant that many of those involved in the Pitcairns case are direct descendants of Fletcher Christian, that famous Manxmanm (or non Manxman as many are all of a suden claiming). Anyway, in that case British Commonwealth Justice intervened.

 

So the dependencies can only push their 'independence' so far. Thank God for that because after what I have seen and experienced on the Isle of Man I would dread to think what some of the laws might be if our rich and powerful had a free reign.

 

nipper - it is relevant that Pitcairn was founded by Manks and Manks were the main players in the seizure of HMAV Bounty. However Pitcairners have not claimed customs of sexual activity below an age of consent of 12 (which is what it used to be in the UK till quite recently and still is in Spain and some other countries). 'British Commonwealth Justice' is not very creditable in that case - the Judge ruled that English law did not give a right to trial by jury !!! Instead they were tried by a military style tribunal/commission (illegal under Bill of Rights 1689) which ironically decided English law applies to Pitcairn. The judge even ruled that they did not have right to counsel of their own choosing, but had to have the 'Public Defender' appointed for them. However it's entirely in keeping with an Island that is virtually run as a military government with Governor having right of veto and the right to impose ordinances without approval of Islanders, where MoD police maintain security, and where prosecutors go round intimidating people to admit to having been abused and offering incentives to anyone doing so.

[hboy]

I am sceptical of the idea that people want to avoid tax because they don't want their money going to the EU. People generally don't want to pay taxes.

 

I'd go further. If the UK tax system allows you to legally put money in an offshore account or structure and defer paying tax on the interest why would you opt NOT to do it? I express total disbelief that journalists such as Cohen don't understand the principle that most people are not thick enough to want to pay more tax than they legitimitely need or have to.

 

That's human nature isn't it? Surely were not all expected to be totally thick by voluntarily paying more than we have to?