HSBC scandal.

[Dj_Jestar]

Just a point to note though, that doesn't actually work. Either the kids will then pay enormous capital gains tax or, more likely, the transaction will be deemed wilful deprivation of an asset and be revalued.

This is true, but only because they've now closed those loopholes

"Fixtures and fittings" used to be a popular one on house purchases to keep the stamp duty down. That's also been quashed somewhat now.

 

[The_Abyss]

This is true, but only because they've now closed those loopholes

"Fixtures and fittings" used to be a popular one on house purchases to keep the stamp duty down. That's also been quashed somewhat now.

Yes, Gordon Brown himself fell foul of the limitations on fixtures and fittings.

 

[spoffle]

Why should we care? I certainly dont see the 9-5 worker out on the streets, screaming that he/she has seen injustice...mostly because he/she is probably working.

Working for the very same people who control their jobs and fittingly the government, whom they pay vast (but ultimately tiny proportions of the overall wealth) to kiss their ass.

Society is headed for a completely unloving, severe consumerist life and no one wants to stop it.

The proportion argument is weird. Why fixate on taxes and use that as an argument? If you think proportions are fair, then it should apply to everything, but no one would realistically argue that because of how absurd it is.

 

[Stretch]

Is anyone getting increasing frustrated with the political response in the endless trickle of tax/banking scandals?

They seem to back the public in their disgust, but somehow conveniently forget that they are in the privileged position to actually do something about the problem.

Politicians are elected to pass laws. If people are getting away with behaviour they deem questionable, or "against the spirit of the law", why don't they lay off the empathy, and close the loopholes.

I don't agree with HSBC or the tax avoiders in this affair, but I equally don't blame them. The blame sits squarely with the government and our [intentionally] useless tax system.

 

[robgmun]

Is anyone getting increasing frustrated with the political response in the endless trickle of tax/banking scandals?

They seem to back the public in their discussed, but somehow conveniently forget that they are in the privileged position to actually do something about the problem.

Politicians are elected to pass laws. If people are getting away with behaviour they deem questionable, or "against the spirit of the law", why don't they lay off the empathy, and close the loopholes.

I don't agree with HSBC or the tax avoiders in this affair, but I equally don't blame them. The blame sits squarely with the government and our [intentionally] useless tax system.

+1 on this, there seems to be some confusion as to who has done what. I don't blame anyone who has done some tax avoidance as the law allows them to. There is no 'spirit' of the law, the law is the law and is black and white. Don't like it? Close loopholes and make schemes illegal.

 

[robgmun]

Well going by this..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31468781

He must be certain he's squeaky clean otherwise he's going to end up with serious amount of egg on his face

Oh dear

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...in-Jersey-later-sold-reported-37-million.html

 

[Ogoshi]

It was never going to be long before dirt started to emerge on Labour.

 

[Dolph]

Oh dear

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...in-Jersey-later-sold-reported-37-million.html

He shoots, he scores... In his foot. With a shotgun.

 

[robgmun]

Sunday Times and The Telegraph are now both running stories on Labour tax dodgers, Andrew Marr show will be interviewing Ed Ball in a bit, this could be good car crash telly! Stay tuned folks

 

[Destination]

Missed the show, just saw the pist now, anything interesting?

 

[Jokester]

I don't agree with HSBC or the tax avoiders in this affair, but I equally don't blame them. The blame sits squarely with the government and our [intentionally] useless tax system.

What HSBC and their clients were upto (or at least might have been) though wasn't tax avoidance, it was tax evasion.

 

[robgmun]

Missed the show, just saw the pist now, anything interesting?

Not really, Ed Balls of course dodged all the question as expected and he was on the ropes, but Andrew Marr is just too weak an interviewer to land a knock out punch.

If he was interviewed by Andrew Neil then it would have savaged him. So something interesting might happen on Sunday Politics later

 

[semi-pro waster]

its not that they're too powerful its that they're the only ones providing the service.

if the government had the ability and capacity to run a large retail bank then they wouldn't have this problem but they don't.

Does this mean you think that government should run large retail banks (assuming the competence and capacity was there)? Or that if they do not then they have no role in regulating them?

 

[robgmun]

..

 

[StriderX]

The proportion argument is weird. Why fixate on taxes and use that as an argument? If you think proportions are fair, then it should apply to everything, but no one would realistically argue that because of how absurd it is.

My sentence skills are crap, I meant the banks are paying government.

 

[Tefal]

Does this mean you think that government should run large retail banks (assuming the competence and capacity was there)?

if i thought they were capable of it and actualy could run a competitive profitable comercial bank then yes i would think that a good idea.

its a pipe dream as they just wouldnt be copmpetent.

Or that if they do not then they have no role in regulating them?

where did you get that from?

of course they should regulate them but because they depend so much on the banks services at the moment having none of their own when a situation like this arises they have to compromise and not destroy the bank by arresting every director because of the knock on effect.

if you make yourself dependent on someone else you then have little recourse for punishing them.

 

[Westyfield2]

"Four prominent motor sport figures are on a leaked list of more than 100,000 accounts held with the Swiss division of the HSBC Bank, which represented more than $100 billion.
Fernando Alonso, Flavio Briatore, Heikki Kovalainen and Valentino Rossi are reported today to have been customers of HSBC’s Swiss division from 2006 to 2007."

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/02/swiss-leaks-prominent-motorsport-personalities-on-hsbc-list/

 

[Jokester]

Alonso lives/lived in Switzerland so no great shock. Not sure on the others.

 

[Uther]

None of them would ever live in the UK would they?

 

[semi-pro waster]

if i thought they were capable of it and actualy could run a competitive profitable comercial bank then yes i would think that a good idea.

its a pipe dream as they just wouldnt be copmpetent.

Interesting although many would argue that it's not a job of government to run banks directly but rather to regulate them.

where did you get that from?

of course they should regulate them but because they depend so much on the banks services at the moment having none of their own when a situation like this arises they have to compromise and not destroy the bank by arresting every director because of the knock on effect.

if you make yourself dependent on someone else you then have little recourse for punishing them.

The UK does have a lot riding on the investment sector but that's not quite the same thing as saying that there cannot or should not be action taken against banks that break the law. I think there's a distinction to be drawn between speculative investing where perhaps there are incentives (or at least few disincentives) for poor and risky investment decisions leading to over-exposure in the markets vs the alleged behaviour here which is advising customers to hide funds illegally abroad to avoid taxation. The former is perhaps irresponsible, the latter would be criminal if proven.