Every few months a new episode of the same story appears in the media. This week we’re back to the hoary old chestnut of tax avoidance and the “scandal” of wealthy men and women arranging their affairs to save on personal income or corporation tax.

It happens throughout the world and offshore tax avoidance schemes seem to be as popular and thriving as they ever were. In many cases, no laws are being broken and the smart folk are simply utilising smart accountants and the infrastructure available to them.

It may be immoral for the chief executive officer of a large company to pay less tax than the woman who cleans his office or the bloke on the factory floor who assembles the parts for the machinery that has made the CEO’s fortune, but it is not illegal.

It should be illegal of course but to make it so would require a change of law so that tax avoidance, which is legal, is instead proscribed as tax evasion, which is not. That would require a huge change in political will however and, no matter how much we all rant about the unfairness of it all, it is unlikely to change.

Many of the targets of any proposed change in legislation are the paymasters of our leading political parties and politicians are as likely to bite the hand that feeds as a turkey is likely to vote for Christmas.