Tax avoidance is rife in this country, and I’m sure all over the world, and Jimmy Carr is merely one of hundreds of thousands in England alone. Those who govern us need to face and deal with reality rather than preach from the pulpit and moralize on society’s wrongs. The reality is that man is, was and always will be a greedy avaricious creature and power and money corrupt. Those truths are unalterable and are sadly without cure. There is no point in criticizing those who pay millions of pounds each year to flashy lawyers and tax accountants to arrange their affairs to the detriment of the taxman because they won’t do anything about it. Money is their God and for many is their sole raison d’etre.
The Prime Minister is right, it is immoral (but not illegal) to avoid tax, especially when the miscreants still reap the benefit of all the services that the State provides with money taken from those who are morally sound or, as in the case of PAYE employees, have no choice but to pay their taxes. What the Prime Minister and his Government have to do is close down all the legal loopholes that the immoral exploit so that they too have no choice but to pay their full contribution to the State’s coffers.
It’s a matter of common sense and is really quite simple to remedy. Parliament needs to pass legislation compelling every UK citizen and/or resident of the UK to pay tax on all his or her personal and corporate earnings. It needs to pass legislation ending forthwith the benefits of off-shore banking and tax havens and ensure that every last penny is accounted for to the Exchequer. It will, of course, require some top lawyers and accountants to put this in place and make it completely watertight but the Government surely has these people at its disposal.
Most importantly, the necessary legislation will require the political will and sound morality of those who govern us and that, when I think about it, is why it will probably never happen.
Common Sense 