Personally, I think Jimmy Carr had the right idea. We are under the lovely assumption that we are this fabulously ‘free’ country - far more developed than those on the third metaphorical rock from the Earth and definitely more than those who hold less than Western ideals. The truth is, we have a lot more liberties living in an individualistic society where the focus is ‘me’ and not ‘we’ like in a collectivist society. Our life decisions are largely based on ourselves; what I want, what I need, what I choose, some may see it as selfish, we see it as liberation. Upon deeper reflection, we may appear to have been afforded all these freedoms but everything is not as it seems. There is still an almighty ball and chain affixed to every ‘choice’ we make - TAX.
We drive around from interview to interview in the hopes of securing that high paying job so we can get the deposit we need for that fabulous new flat we’ve chosen and that is all possible - just after the Road tax, Petrol Tax, Income Tax and Council Tax et al. An attempt at some retail therapy is a fitting remedy for us as the stresses of life are flushed away and replaced by endorphins from shiny new clothes and gadgets but those stresses promptly return after the V.A.T brings you back to reality! You can’t even live a sedimentary life on the sofa without paying for a licence to watch television. Then again, there’s still that cash gift Aunty Lola left to you that you’ve been saving for a rainy day, it’s a shame the Inheritance Tax will take 40% off that too.
Do not mistake me for suggesting that taxes are unnecessary and we should all revolt against paying our taxes, I simply raise the concern that we are over taxed, especially when you consider what our taxes are being spent on. Last year, an excessive sounding £33.3 million of tax-payers money was spent on the Royal family - mostly distributed between travel costs and the Queen’s staff. The Royals should be largely self-sufficient and rely on the income earned from the remarkable amount of tourism they attract. On the other hand, the Queen does pay taxes on her official income from the Duchy of Lancaster but how much she pays was described as "a private matter" by a royal aide who also remarked that, "nor is she in any of these Jimmy Carr schemes".
Necessities like the NHS, social security and public transport are rightfully paid for by public funds, along with a whole host of institutions such as the police, nation defence and education; all integral parts of the British infrastructure that we can be proud to benefit from, or can we? Waiting times in A&E and Surgery waiting lists are at an all time high, interruptions, delayed trains and extortionate travel fares are a constant aggravation. The authorities tend to overuse their powers when minimal force is needed and yet stand as motionless observers as we all watch London burn to the ground and descend into civil unrest, not to mention illegal wars and our young people's crippling financial journey from undergrad into the red.
Suddenly, we’ve found ourselves trapped in an avalanche of colossal failures caused by the financial over-lords that we blindly obey and are powerless to defend against and these aren’t the only instances of the mishandling of public funds, just the ones that they couldn’t hide from us. For a system that claims entitlement to a percentage of every pound that we are fortunate enough to amass - to the extent that we run the risk of imprisonment if we do not comply, it is failing to produce a satisfactory output from what we, the taxpayers are obligated to input. No small wonder people have been looking for ways to claim independence from "The Man", from the rising numbers of people opting out of pension schemes to those who engage in creative tax evasion.
Given the initial backlash after it was revealed that Jimmy Carr, among a whole host of other celebrities, had subscribed to the K2 Tax Avoidance Scheme which effectively allows millionaires to pay the same amount of tax as someone on minimum wage; I am quite pleased at how he has managed to play it out. He is a comedian after all. The Prime minister chiming in on the issue was no doubt designed to dig a deeper grave for the funny man but it seemed to put David Cameron himself under fire for his inherent hypocrisy given that some of his most generous investors use the same scheme.
I will admit that the scheme is wholly crafty, it’s very cleverly designed for the express purposes of allowing the very rich to hold onto their riches in a way that those less well off cannot, which strikes a lot of the same chords as that old chestnut - "the rich get rich and the poor get poorer". Economic inequality at its best but immorality, I think not. The truth is that at best, it is a bit unfair - in the sense that if we have to pay tax, then we should all have to. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that the scheme is the villain in this piece, the obvious solution is to make this knowledge available to everyone, not just the rich but the smart too. There are a million money saving loopholes in the system that the most shrewd of us take advantage of on a daily basis, this is just another one. Akin to the responses of the more liberal-minded members of the public, we would probably also do the exact same thing if we could. Anyone would, except those who feel it’s wrong somehow to cleverly stick it to the government.
Usually I would agree that trying to weasel out of one's responsibilities is a bad thing but there is a grey area when what you are responsible for is lining the pockets of greedy fat cats. In my eyes, this situation is different. In the first instance, it is completely and perfectly legal and in the second, the government knows all about it and has done for as long as it has existed. I’m sure that they’ve noticed the multi-million pound discrepancies that traditionally would have been paid as income tax but somehow hasn’t been. Neither do I agree with Mr. Cameron's assertion that taking advantage of this scheme (as a smart way to manage your money) is somehow immoral. The phrase, “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” is the most famous tax related reference in the Bible and it makes perfect sense, however when "Caesar" himself has allowed very clever people to cultivate a small tax haven in which paying less tax is permitted, coupled with this economic climate, it’s a bit of a no-brainer what option to choose.
It’s worth noting that the government would never allow the average Joe the privilege to take advantage of this scheme and so, as it has now been widely publicised, we can be rest assured that they are finding ways to clamp all the blood flow to the lovely vestigial tail of tax avoidance, but the point still stands that schemes like this aren’t necessarily wrong and I don’t partake in jealously villianizing those who take part in it. I do however believe that a number of taxes are ludicrous and for the amount we pay for the necessities and benefits that we are all grateful for, those same services should be a lot better, it just doesn’t add up.
No wonder they assassinated Caesar.
Ayo O
We drive around from interview to interview in the hopes of securing that high paying job so we can get the deposit we need for that fabulous new flat we’ve chosen and that is all possible - just after the Road tax, Petrol Tax, Income Tax and Council Tax et al. An attempt at some retail therapy is a fitting remedy for us as the stresses of life are flushed away and replaced by endorphins from shiny new clothes and gadgets but those stresses promptly return after the V.A.T brings you back to reality! You can’t even live a sedimentary life on the sofa without paying for a licence to watch television. Then again, there’s still that cash gift Aunty Lola left to you that you’ve been saving for a rainy day, it’s a shame the Inheritance Tax will take 40% off that too.
Do not mistake me for suggesting that taxes are unnecessary and we should all revolt against paying our taxes, I simply raise the concern that we are over taxed, especially when you consider what our taxes are being spent on. Last year, an excessive sounding £33.3 million of tax-payers money was spent on the Royal family - mostly distributed between travel costs and the Queen’s staff. The Royals should be largely self-sufficient and rely on the income earned from the remarkable amount of tourism they attract. On the other hand, the Queen does pay taxes on her official income from the Duchy of Lancaster but how much she pays was described as "a private matter" by a royal aide who also remarked that, "nor is she in any of these Jimmy Carr schemes".
Necessities like the NHS, social security and public transport are rightfully paid for by public funds, along with a whole host of institutions such as the police, nation defence and education; all integral parts of the British infrastructure that we can be proud to benefit from, or can we? Waiting times in A&E and Surgery waiting lists are at an all time high, interruptions, delayed trains and extortionate travel fares are a constant aggravation. The authorities tend to overuse their powers when minimal force is needed and yet stand as motionless observers as we all watch London burn to the ground and descend into civil unrest, not to mention illegal wars and our young people's crippling financial journey from undergrad into the red.
Suddenly, we’ve found ourselves trapped in an avalanche of colossal failures caused by the financial over-lords that we blindly obey and are powerless to defend against and these aren’t the only instances of the mishandling of public funds, just the ones that they couldn’t hide from us. For a system that claims entitlement to a percentage of every pound that we are fortunate enough to amass - to the extent that we run the risk of imprisonment if we do not comply, it is failing to produce a satisfactory output from what we, the taxpayers are obligated to input. No small wonder people have been looking for ways to claim independence from "The Man", from the rising numbers of people opting out of pension schemes to those who engage in creative tax evasion.
Given the initial backlash after it was revealed that Jimmy Carr, among a whole host of other celebrities, had subscribed to the K2 Tax Avoidance Scheme which effectively allows millionaires to pay the same amount of tax as someone on minimum wage; I am quite pleased at how he has managed to play it out. He is a comedian after all. The Prime minister chiming in on the issue was no doubt designed to dig a deeper grave for the funny man but it seemed to put David Cameron himself under fire for his inherent hypocrisy given that some of his most generous investors use the same scheme.
I will admit that the scheme is wholly crafty, it’s very cleverly designed for the express purposes of allowing the very rich to hold onto their riches in a way that those less well off cannot, which strikes a lot of the same chords as that old chestnut - "the rich get rich and the poor get poorer". Economic inequality at its best but immorality, I think not. The truth is that at best, it is a bit unfair - in the sense that if we have to pay tax, then we should all have to. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that the scheme is the villain in this piece, the obvious solution is to make this knowledge available to everyone, not just the rich but the smart too. There are a million money saving loopholes in the system that the most shrewd of us take advantage of on a daily basis, this is just another one. Akin to the responses of the more liberal-minded members of the public, we would probably also do the exact same thing if we could. Anyone would, except those who feel it’s wrong somehow to cleverly stick it to the government.
Usually I would agree that trying to weasel out of one's responsibilities is a bad thing but there is a grey area when what you are responsible for is lining the pockets of greedy fat cats. In my eyes, this situation is different. In the first instance, it is completely and perfectly legal and in the second, the government knows all about it and has done for as long as it has existed. I’m sure that they’ve noticed the multi-million pound discrepancies that traditionally would have been paid as income tax but somehow hasn’t been. Neither do I agree with Mr. Cameron's assertion that taking advantage of this scheme (as a smart way to manage your money) is somehow immoral. The phrase, “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” is the most famous tax related reference in the Bible and it makes perfect sense, however when "Caesar" himself has allowed very clever people to cultivate a small tax haven in which paying less tax is permitted, coupled with this economic climate, it’s a bit of a no-brainer what option to choose.
It’s worth noting that the government would never allow the average Joe the privilege to take advantage of this scheme and so, as it has now been widely publicised, we can be rest assured that they are finding ways to clamp all the blood flow to the lovely vestigial tail of tax avoidance, but the point still stands that schemes like this aren’t necessarily wrong and I don’t partake in jealously villianizing those who take part in it. I do however believe that a number of taxes are ludicrous and for the amount we pay for the necessities and benefits that we are all grateful for, those same services should be a lot better, it just doesn’t add up.
No wonder they assassinated Caesar.
Ayo O
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