Tax avoidance is not a bad thing
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Tax avoidance is not a bad thinghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18548896
Tax furore? Typical nonsense from the state-run, leftist propaganda machine that is the BBC.
I support the K2 tax avoidance scheme as it helps keep money in the pockets of the wealthy who have earned it. If any of Jimmy Carr's hecklers were successful and wealthy enough to afford his accountants, they would do exactly the same thing. I believe that keeping money in the economy itself (i.e. the pockets of the citizens) generates growth as people can spend more within the economy rather than having their income stolen by the government in order to pay for the idle.
Tax EVASION is questionable, but keeping your tax bill as low as possible is one of the most moral I can think of doing, because it means there is more disposable income to spend within the economy itself.
What are your thoughts?Last edited by Otkem; 23-06-2012 at 14:01. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingBlah blah blah.
BTW tax evasion is illegal not questionable.
6 people clearly have limited mental capacity and can't distinguish between illegal and legal activity.Last edited by Scumbaggio; 17-07-2012 at 17:40. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingBut until they're closed, it's perfectly legal to do so.(Original post by Donald Duck)
I agree that I would evade tax as well, as it is the smart thing to do. However that doesn't mean those loopholes shouldn't be closed (as well as lots of others). -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingI trust Jimmy Carr's critics don't use "immoral" tax avoidance schemes such as ISAs or tax relief on pension contributions. Unless BBC journalists etc use every available opportunity to pay as much tax possible they can keep their hypocritical mouths shut imo. Everyone avoids tax to a greater a lesser degree, Carr just had the means to take things a bit further than Joe Bloggs.
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingIf people aren't legally obligated to pay tax, there's nothing wrong with not paying it, that's like saying you have to give money to charity. Morally you might think you should, but not legally.
However, if this stuff about Gary Barlow not paying tax when he should is true then he's a hypocrite for wanting the ordinary tax payer to contribute to charity, he's just doing it for the glory and to make himself look good when he's scamming the government out of money that is rightfully theirs. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingI think a certain part of this comes from the fact Jimmy is one of Channel 4's big hitters and the BBC-Channel 4 notoriously don't get on.
And, those say (now) populist trollop like "the actions aren't illegal, but the morality is".
I .... I, nah forget it. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingIt's not about paying as much tax as possible, it's about paying a reasonable amount.
The general public would have no problem with Jimmy Carr reducing his tax bill to a percentage that the average man would pay of about 20-40%, but he was paying 1%.
It is a loophole, it is a way of getting round a law. It is not intended to be legal. Tax is not solely to stimulate the economy it is also to redistribute wealth and provide services that people tend to undervalue. If nobody paid tax society would be much worse off. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingI wish all these people who are criticising him would just shut up and stop being so self rightous. The law says he doesn't have to pay the tax so he isn't obliged to pay it. I agree with tightening up the loop holes but while they still exist people are free to exploit them- it is not their problem if the laws are inadequate. I am certain that the majority of people complainign would do exactly the same thing if they could. Some may feel a moral obligation to pay taxes but that is up to them- i'm sure they wouldn't like having others moral forced on them.
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingThis.(Original post by Narcissist)
It's not about paying as much tax as possible, it's about paying a reasonable amount.
The general public would have no problem with Jimmy Carr reducing his tax bill to a percentage that the average man would pay of about 20-40%, but he was paying 1%.
It is a loophole, it is a way of getting round a law. It is not intended to be legal. Tax is not solely to stimulate the economy it is also to redistribute wealth and provide services that people tend to undervalue. If nobody paid tax society would be much worse off.
There's having an ISA, or maybe doing something to limit the tax you pay by a few more percent, and then there's investing your money in an off-shore business which loans your money back to you so that you end up paying 1%.
It's the fact that millions of families who are struggling right now are paying 20-40% of their income in tax, whilst the rich (such as Jimmy Carr) who don't even need to pay less tax, are getting away with paying 1%. We live in an extremely de facto regressive system of taxation, which is morally wrong.
How can you defend a situation where people who can hardly afford to pay their bills pay a proportion of tax around twenty to forty times higher than someone who is bathing in cash, and still uses all public services made available via the public's tax contributions.
You're not obliged to not fart in a lift but it still makes you a selfish prick if you do so.(Original post by Aoide)
I wish all these people who are criticising him would just shut up and stop being so self rightous. The law says he doesn't have to pay the tax so he isn't obliged to pay it. I agree with tightening up the loop holes but while they still exist people are free to exploit them- it is not their problem if the laws are inadequate. I am certain that the majority of people complainign would do exactly the same thing if they could. Some may feel a moral obligation to pay taxes but that is up to them- i'm sure they wouldn't like having others moral forced on them.Last edited by Ben F; 23-06-2012 at 18:50. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingThe ISA argument is like saying if you have ever smiled at a racist joke you aren't allowed an opinion on the holacaust.(Original post by chefdave)
I trust Jimmy Carr's critics don't use "immoral" tax avoidance schemes such as ISAs or tax relief on pension contributions. Unless BBC journalists etc use every available opportunity to pay as much tax possible they can keep their hypocritical mouths shut imo. Everyone avoids tax to a greater a lesser degree, Carr just had the means to take things a bit further than Joe Bloggs. -
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Re: Tax avoidance is not a bad thingTrying to justify tax avoidance is a very short-sighted thing. Those taxes pay for our free healthcare, our social security, all of our public works and our safety. If everyone did what Jimmy Carr did, then all of those would have to be cut back and would either disappear or reduce in quality. We all have to pay taxes according to our fair rate - just because you're wealthy doesn't mean you're exempt. You'll still be richer than the rest of us anyway because of the way the sliding tax scale works. You only have to pay the 50% tax rate on anything above the threshold - anything below is charged according to the rest of the scale.
I like Jimmy Carr as a comedian, but I can't agree with what he's done with his taxes.
