"Don't expect sympathy" – everyone to Lagarde

[Skull]

Who said the Guardian didn't have dodgy story's & conflicting data?.

My problem about the hypocrisy of the rich is that they firstly should know better (higher standard of education) & actually have the power to cause misery to the population.

The hypocrites are the bottom are easy to ignore, they have no power.

Just because I don't think somebody who doesn't pay tax is the best suited to talk about the importance of paying tax, it doesn't mean I'm being bias.

That comparison you gave about the children protesting speeding campaigning is one of the worst comparisons I've ever heard.

She works, she earns money - children don't drive cars & then tell people not to speed.

It's not like the organisation is incapable of changing the system, just none of them have a desire to pay tax (much like the Greeks don't either) - have you considered it may be good for them to lead by example?.

Elmarko, would you be happy to double your personal tax contributions to the funding of the UN so that the USA and France can receive income tax from UN officials?

 

[Hatter The Mad]

there is no equivalent in terms of having your day-to-day life dictated by people who have any practical understanding whatsoever of your situation - this is surely wrong.

Who are these super people with practical understanding of the situation everyone in the country is in? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that notion is?

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Nobody said the situation with Greece & Lagarde are exaclty the same, I'm well aware of that distinction - just that they are similar enough to be hypocritical in a number of peoples judgements.

You do know that two things do not have to be identical to be hypocritical?.

The judgement of a number of stupid people, sure. But no one rational or sensible.

 

[estebanrey]

That comparison you gave about the children protesting speeding campaigning is one of the worst comparisons I've ever heard.

Why? It's a similar notion is it not?

Here are some kids in Bolton giving drivers a "dressing down" for speeding.

Now those kids aren't eligible to drive themselves and yet they are telling people who are how to. That to me seems very similar (notion -wise) to what we're discussing here. The reason you think it's a bad analogy is because you aren't seeing the premise of Lagarde's situation correctly.

She is not avoiding or evading taxes, she is simply not eligible to pay them. She couldn't legally pay them even if she wanted or demanded to, in the same way the kids in Bolton can't show people who to drive properly even if they wanted to. But that doesn't mean either can't lecture people who are eligible to do those things but aren't doing them the right way.

If Lagarde can't tell the Greek to pay their taxes because she is not eligible from taxes herself, why can the kids in Bolton lecture drivers on how to drive given they have no experience or a licence themselves?

I think the two situations whilst obviously being different, are perfectly analogous.

 

[FreeStream]

How is it hypocritical? Her wages are paid for by many different nations. If she were to be taxed, in effect, nations would be handing money over to another. It's not tax evasion, it's the solution to a practical problem.

Greeks are completely hypocritical. Want to be in the euro, don't want to pay back what it has borrowed. Wants public service, doesn't want to pay for it

This.

Lagarde (or any international worker under the same international law) doesn't pay taxes on her income because how do you split the tax up? By time spent in each country? A proportion of what the IMF gets from each country? Each country has different levels of taxation, how do you factor that in?

Why bother? Not not just have her pay no tax, save the time and effort working this rubbish out. Would you like it to cost governments more to A) Work it out and B) pay her more to level the taxes out?

She is in an incredible position of power and therefore under high pressure to make the right decisions, hence why she gets a decent salary.

Personally I feel Greece has had it. The attitude over there will just mean they will have to pull out and the rest of us will have to suffer the consequences.

 

[dowie]

To be fair to the OP.

If you are going to berate a nation for not paying much tax, it help if it comes from somebody who actually pays tax.

The legality was not bought into question, just the hypocrisy of it.

How do you know she doesn't pay tax?

Not paying tax on her tax free salary from the IMF is not the same as not paying tax at all....

She's a multimillionaire the IMF salary is likely a fraction of the income she derives from investments etc....

I don't think she's exempt from any taxes due on property investments in France, her share portfolio etc..etc...

There are plenty of Greeks on the other hand who are happy to evade as much as they can.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

To be fair to the OP.

If you are going to berate a nation for not paying much tax, it help if it comes from somebody who actually pays tax.

The legality was not bought into question, just the hypocrisy of it.

Why can't you get over this notion that there is a moral obligation to 'pay tax' to anyone, somewhere, to whomever or whatever? Why do you think this is a prerequisite for someone else to berate a national for having a poor tax regime? Would you be happy if she sent a cheque to some random exchequer in the world?

Just for pure fun? Just to be able to say 'I PAY TAX! YAY*'?

The two simply do not compute or correlate. It's fundamentally stupid.

* I'm sure you note she of course does 'pay tax', just not on the IMF salary or contract.