Damaging Article From Guardian

[gazza]

So am I talking shit then,

 

well dont want u to change a habit of a life time for you

 

anyone can 'avoid' what they would normally pay in tax? And the rich do not avoid proportionally more? If that is the case then the issue of moralising over tax avoidance is quite pointless and I see no reason why offshore jurisdictions should be criticised.

 

im sure some would be able to avoid paying maybe as much as thay do now, how much of it i dont know,

all i know is u said rich ppl can avoid paying tax and the poor cant, well im poor and i avoid paying tax, thay sometimes pay me

[Sebrof]

i can tell u now, that im not rich by any amount, far from it, dam skint most of the time,

 

but an accountant should pay his own fees and more with the work he does, i know i been had 4 till i found a really gd one,

and he saved me a bomb in the first year i had him, haveing him, paid his own wagers plus he made me a few quid better off as well

 

So am I talking shit then, anyone can 'avoid' what they would normally pay in tax? And the rich do not avoid proportionally more? If that is the case then the issue of moralising over tax avoidance is quite pointless and I see no reason why offshore jurisdictions should be criticised.

 

 

Tax law is complicated. There are lots of perfectly legal ways you can arrange your affairs so that you can pay more or less tax. Often government wil provide incentives through taxes for people to do things that the government wishes to encourage. Savings and pensions are obvious examples. But unless you know all these ways to change your tax position perfectly properly, you might lose out.

 

So, you employ an accountant, just as you would employ a brain surgeon to change your brain. It pays to use an expert.

 

By the way, I know a few brain surgeons ............

 

S

[La_Dolce_Vita]

Tax law is complicated. There are lots of perfectly legal ways you can arrange your affairs so that you can pay more or less tax. Often government wil provide incentives through taxes for people to do things that the government wishes to encourage. Savings and pensions are obvious examples.

S

 

Then I assume that tax havens and offshore financial centres are used to save a greater amount of money that would be possible within your own country. Just appears like it is escaping the tax you should pay. That the system of 'international tax avoidance' contradicts the socially motivated foundations of tax regimes of nations.

[Sebrof]

Tax law is complicated. There are lots of perfectly legal ways you can arrange your affairs so that you can pay more or less tax. Often government wil provide incentives through taxes for people to do things that the government wishes to encourage. Savings and pensions are obvious examples.

S

 

Then I assume that tax havens and offshore financial centres are used to save a greater amount of money that would be possible within your own country. Just appears like it is escaping the tax you should pay. That the system of 'international tax avoidance' contradicts the socially motivated foundations of tax regimes of nations.

 

In my view, the IOM IS a tax haven because there are opportunities here to save tax, thanks to lower tax rates, or, in some cases, no tax at all (company income tax, for instance is zero for most companies here).

 

Those who say it isn't a tax haven do so because in their view the IOM does not encourage or facilitate tax evasion (which is illegal avoidance of tax). This is largely true, but the secrecy surrounding Manx companies means that evasion is easier than it might be - in my view.

 

But obviously, it's largely down to definitions, and there is no commonly agreed definition of tax haven.

 

Those who oppose tax havens on principle have had the wind taken out of their sails to some extent by the fact that many countries now have corporation tax rates of 20% or lower (much less than the UK, for instance). At the end of the day, high-tax countries should perhaps ask themselves whether their tax rates are justified, and whether they could be lowered.

 

S