Albert Tatlock Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 You can say that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2112 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Never knew the guy...but the MEA is in the crap and the culprits got away scott free after a long 'so called' investigation, and most of the film money has been pissed away. So I won't be singing anyone's praises on those, sorry. But 53 is too young to die though. I quite agree, he died at a young age. In all fairness, I think the tributes by Tynpotwalders, Allan Bell and Howard Quayle whilst they have been wholesome, I feel they have been a bit over the top. To some extent, it seems Quayle, Bell and Tynpotwalders view some Civil Servants as 'greater human beings' than others. To use the phrase 'giving their time freely' is rather telling and it could be argued that many thousands of residents give their time freely, either volunteering with a charity or volunteering in the running of the TT or FOM. Its also telling the amount of civil servants in the DED riding on the coat tails of those volunteering. I wonder if Quayle, Bell et al view these civil servants any greater than mere ordinary mortals? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Dearden Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Never knew the guy...but the MEA is in the crap and the culprits got away scott free after a long 'so called' investigation, and most of the film money has been pissed away. So I won't be singing anyone's praises on those, sorry. He joined the Board of the MEA AFTER the problems to assist with remedial action and he assisted in making the VAT/film money, not spending it. Your post is harsh and unfair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwell Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Tatlock is clueless on this. I agree with you too. He did plenty for the island. Made sure our interest in the film industry was very profitable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Steve was the man who spotted the opportunity in the VAT agreement to Manx register films on the Island, shoot some of the production here then claim the whole VAT content back from the UK treasury It was estimated that he generated over 200 million for the Manx exchequer in the first 10 years, not counting the amount that was spent locally by the film companies on hotels, transport etc. On a personal level he was a genuinely nice guy who never affected any of the bullshit that goes with showbiz, he gave the impression of being slightly surprised at his success One of the good guys, sadly missed No idea if he was one of the good guys or not, but I would agree he would appear to have been good businessman as he did very well for himself. Where he is not helped is the complete failure by Government over many years to be at all transparent with regard to the film/media fund. There is also the belief by many have that the money generated for the Manx Exchequer led to the VAT deal being renegotiated. There may be or not be any element truth in that but it will colour view of some people. The one element that I always disliked with regard to the structuring is that the party tasked with advising or recommending the Govt should invest in a project was also a party who would benefit directly if projects were progressed. I think that remains the case. When anybody younger than you or about your age, who essentially looks pretty healthy, dies suddenly it often seems a bit close to home and it must be very distressing for his family and friends. Unfortunately his name will probably attract a mixed range of views and opinions just because of the areas he was involved in and that some politicians or ex politicians described him as a close friend and probably like most of us he was probably a pretty sound guy but not without faults. Certainly I would settle for that epitaph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Made sure our interest in the film industry was very profitable Was it really? That is what the Govt continually tell us but they have never really produced much by way of hard evidence to back this up. It is not worth trying to point in the direction of the "independent" report prepared a few years back as the party who prepared did not do independent verification of many of the figures that Govt gave them with the result that you basically had a circular argument in terms of proof in that Govt used the report to be able to say the report states XYZ. But the report only reported what Govt had advised them so in many ways it was purely a means for Govt to be able for Govt to dress up reporting their own figures as if they had come from a third party. We will also never know if, as some maintain, it caused in part the UK Govt to review the VAT sharing agreement. Always difficult when somebody dies to post sensitively as obviously there will be family and friends who are deeply upset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopper Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Steve was a really, really good Manxman and anyone who says otherwise didn't know him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 (edited) Made sure our interest in the film industry was very profitable Was it really? Of course it was. Just maybe not in a way that could be sustainable. It also led to the belief in certain quarters that we were in a forever financial bonanza, and we spent the money accordingly on government bloat, despite some of us warning that it was unsustainable - including Allan Bell. Nobody listened, so in that way it could be seen as damaging to us - or our children - when the history books of the period are written Edited February 23, 2017 by woolley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Shoe Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 (edited) . Edited February 23, 2017 by Mr Shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asitis Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Whilst I have always been a knocker of the Film Industry investment, mainly due to Eddies inability to answer a straight question about it, and his immediate reliance on hostility towards anyone who even asked a question, I am extremely sad a youngish man has died in these circumstances and am genuinely sorry for his family. Whilst we are all on this topic again, perhaps it is an opportune moment for me to ask serious questions of people who understand more about the issue than me ......... Why was the VAT calculation so disastrously wrong ? ...... were we claiming too much ? ...... were we given too much ?, clearly an error was made, be it of judgement or calculation who was responsible ? This is not point scoring but there has to be a reason the VAT allocated was so hugely wrong and I don't think I have ever seen a black and white explanation as to why that was ! I would ask a question under the FOI but of course that does not cover the relevant period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barlow Strada Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 We will also never know if, as some maintain, it caused in part the UK Govt to review the VAT sharing agreement. why will we never know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 We will also never know if, as some maintain, it caused in part the UK Govt to review the VAT sharing agreement.why will we never know? Because if it was the case it is very unlikely that it was put in writing and even more unlikely somebody will ever come out and say it was the case, let alone provide any concrete evidence. Even if it was not the case and politicians state this many may not accept what they are told and against there is unlikely to be any concrete evidence of why the UK woke up over the matter. Maybe under the 30 year UK rule there will be a memo somewhere but even if there is it is unlikely I would have thought to get spotted and reported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 The thing with the vat bonanza is that while it was certainly good for some, the vast majority of the island didn't see any of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 It wasn't really invested in education, it just meant that we could pay three times over the odds for capital projects rather than the usual two 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 The thing with the vat bonanza is that while it was certainly good for some, the vast majority of the island didn't see any of it. Yes they did! What about the extra hundreds of millions that flowed into government coffers and were spent on infrastructure, keeping taxes lower, enabling reserve funds to be estanblished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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