Tax avoidance . Would you ?

[Roubignol]

I just read that in the USA, they immediatly tax the salary.
Why our politicians don't immediatly do that on ALL the money transactions?
A global VAT.... Let's say 35% and no more taxes.
That would cease tax evasion.

[stralis440]

Yep, in a heartbeat. Being self employed, I do it. I spend what I can back on the business, to offset it all to tax. As long as my profits can actually be lived on, HMRC leave well alone.
Left or Right politicians simply haven`t a clue how to spend money wisely, it`s not theirs, more will come and if it doesn`t just raise a few taxes (stealth) to get them more, ask Gordon Brown on that one.
If tax was spent wisely on the things that those shouting about legal avoidance say are losing out, I may look at it in a different light.
However, when the people who live either side of you have never done a days work in their whole life and have far much more money than I`ll ever have, then the Government can go whistle for their money. I`ll pay what I have to, but if I can do anything legal to avoid it, I will do it
Where I live, single parent, 2 children on equivalent of £500 per week take home pay. I don`t think that`s right.

[chris chunt]

Originally Posted by xyzde69

I just read that in the USA, they immediatly tax the salary.
Why our politicians don't immediatly do that on ALL the money transactions?
A global VAT.... Let's say 35% and no more taxes.
That would cease tax evasion.

That would be too easy though .
I think tax is deliberately made complicated so that if you're wealthy you can hire an accountant to look for loop holes for you so you don't have to pay any .

Left or right leaning they all do it .
Ed and David Miliband done some clever accounting to duck out of inheritance tax .
Why doesn't the current labour hierarchy speak up about that ?
Cos they'd do exactly the same thing themselves .

[brk549]

Hamilton should be made to pay what he's supposed to pay because he's one of the few that can afford to.He probably shouldn't be looked down on any more than anyone else because most of us try to get by with as much as we can other than the fact that he can pay what he owes and never miss the money were the average man pays what they owe and really miss it and need it.I'm more in favor of a sales tax than flat tax because those that are getting a free ride are paying the same as every one else and I think they should pay taxes just like the rest of us,maybe more so.Scoundrel don't get me started on health care because blue cross just hit me like a sledge hammer the first of this month and I'm in the process of trying to find out why.I have them set up on a bank draft and it looks like they went in and just took what they wanted.I think the country should try all the bastards that voted for this train wreck of a health care in court.Once it all shakes out it's looking like only the people that weren't covered will end up being the only ones that are,no one else can afford it.

[haroldeye]

I am an executor to an estate that is fairly complicated. In order to gain probate we (the executors) have needed to involve accountants and lawyers. If we didn't and made a mistake we could go to jail or at least have a large fine. The joke is that we can't offset their outrageous fees against tax for some unknown reason. Likewise we can't get probate and then pay the tax bill, we have to pay the tax before the people are lucky enough to inherit can actually inherit. In this case we have had to organise the sale of assetts held by the family, and pay capital gains tax on the sale. To raise 200k to pay IHT we have had to dispose of 333k of assets. 40% tax on the difference between what the fields sold were worth in 1981 and were worth in Sept 2017 with no allowance for inflation. It's all bollocks, the whole tax system is a pile of badly thought out shite.

Oh and we the executors didn't get paid a penny for all our work.

[cginok]

Originally Posted by xyzde69

I just read that in the USA, they immediatly tax the salary.
Why our politicians don't immediatly do that on ALL the money transactions?
A global VAT.... Let's say 35% and no more taxes.
That would cease tax evasion.

That is essentially correct. There is a federal income tax, a percentage based upon your income. And then some states, I think most states, have an income tax as well. I know Texas doesn't have a state income tax. Also, some larger cities have an income tax...I think NYC is one that has a city income tax. Taxes are removed from your paycheck before you ever get it.

From what I've read through the thread, it sounds more like the scandal isn't what's illegal, the scandal is what's legal. The wealthy and corporations buy off the politicians to create a tax code that is filled with loopholes. The wealthy then hire, since they have plenty of money to do so, an army of accountants and lawyers to find ways for them to take advantage of those loopholes. If an average person, like me, was to try and do that, I would end up spending more on the accountants and lawyers than what they could save me in taxes. What in effect happens is that the wealthy pay less in taxes, as a percentage of income, than someone making significantly less.

Take Trump for example. He would be in the highest tax bracket, which is 36%. But, by the time his lawyers and accountants get done, the actual percentage he would pay is probably less than 10%, if that. By law he's still paying 36%, in reality he's paying far less, or nothing at all.

[Rogerbh]

Have you thought what it would take to administer a VAT on all money transactions?

The size of the tax force would be immense. I don't think anyone would like that.

I saw surveys that say 90% of all people cheat on their taxes, a VAT on all money transactions would bring that percentage to near 100%.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by Rogerbh

Have you thought what it would take to administer a VAT on all money transactions?

There are computers.

Originally Posted by Rogerbh

The size of the tax force would be immense. I don't think anyone would like that.

I saw surveys that say 90% of all people cheat on their taxes, a VAT on all money transactions would bring that percentage to near 100%.

But that's already what is happening.
I don't know in your country, but when I buy a sandwich in a shop or a bar, I pay VAT, when I send a bill to a customer, I add 8% of VAT.

It would depend on the percentage of the VAT.
Maybe a VAT of 3% on the necessary products (food, etc..)
a VAT of 8% on the services and a VAT of 1% on other transactions.

I don't know... that's a concept that I already said to my tax officer.
I don't like to fill my tax documents. But I think that we all have to pay our taxes and our social charges.

If we don't pay anymore our taxes and social charges, all the social progress acquired during the last century will be disintegrated. We will find ourselves in a situation similar to that experienced by workers before the twentieth century.
Terrified minions to lose their work and bosses who will submit us to their wills.

This is happening in the US and some European countries with the working poors and the insecure jobs.

[scoundrel]

VAT or sales tax are very regressive and pernicious taxes and they harm the economy by suppressing effective demand for goods and services; they bleed the system. When the Saudis lowered the world crude oil price we saw quickly how beneficial it is for growth and employment when prices of goods fall. If I were Chancellor of the Exchequer and had any leeway whatsoever to reduce taxes, VAT is the first and only tax I would cut. If we could abolish VAT, which I doubt would ever be possible, an awful lot of tax evasion would disappear at once, including Otokonomidori's plumber. Income tax cuts for high net worth individuals are a pack of bollocks and do much harm both to employment and to social justice; one day this trend will go too far and some of these people will turn into strange fruit, as will some politicians who sold their bottoms in public toilets to get campaign contributions in return for increasing the tax burden on little people and cutting taxes for the wealth skimmers.

In this world the rule seems to be that the worse you behave the better you get treated. But that can change.

[george anson]

Tax avoidance as some idiot at Apple proudly announced is perfectly above board by the letter of the law. It is.

However it is to me immoral. It is immoral to see people and corporations who earn enormous salaries and profits still trying to retain all their wealth. So much for trickle down economics while the least suited to do it on low incomes pay more in relative terms still.

The discrepancy between the salaries of the general workforce and those that sit in boardrooms has grown dramatically for no reason other than that they can get away with it (although more and more shareholders are trying to stop it). As a result we are living in a skewed world where a few individuals control enormous sums of money earned off the hard work of the masses. Not to mention those who have shafted the population at large numerous times like bankers, currency speculators etc,etc.

And the elite then uses it's wealth to cement it's position. If there were any politicians with backbones acting in global concert we could see the abolition of tax havens, avoidance schemes and the like.

People like Hamilton are shameless unwilling to contribute to society. Even if they paid the top rate of tax (personally I think everyone should pay a fixed percentage on their income regardless of what it is) he'd have more than enough to live on and play around with his toys. And those like Brangelina are the same. Preaching about poverty while forking out £100M on a luxury yacht ?

I can safely say hand on heart if I was in the position of being a billionaire or multi millionaire I would give most of the money away to charities (medical research/wildlife protection), cultural institutions and other worthy causes.

I find the idea of idiots bragging about owning thirteen sports cars to one up their 'mate' pathetic and sad. I only have words of praise for philanthropists who have an awareness that the world doesn't revolve around them and helping your fellow man is the best thing in the world one can do.