Only the little people pay taxes.

Newspapers have been studying the leak of information about HSBC’s tax avoidance schemes run from its Swiss subsidy. The Swiss banks have an army of lawyers threatening to pounce if UK newspapers name anyone. Polly Toynbee has an excellent article in the Guardian where she points out that many countries have instigated criminal proceedings against HSBC but the UK is not one of them.

The Coalition will to point out that we have recovered £135 million from tax evaders. However even though the UK has more citizens on the HSBC list than other countries, we have recovered less. HSBC are in the dock because they have been found out. The other banks are also engaged in tax avoidance.

Meanwhile the Conservative Party held a fund raising dinner with tickets at £15,000 a pop. 12 of the donors were hedge fund managers responsible for some 50% of party income. Of course this is totally unrelated to the income tax reduction from 50% to 45% introduced by George Osborne. Donations are only coming in at 10% of the tax cuts. I wonder if George is disappointed?

David Cameron has accused Red Ed of not understanding business. Well here is todays rant:

• Hedge Funds have their own agenda. They are not businesses in a traditional sense.
• Hedge funds lead the volume of equity trading. this is speculation, not business investment.
• Hedge funds are subsidised by the tax payer. You and I pay stamp duty if we buy shares. Hedge funds are exempt from stamp duty!
• Hedge funds now fund the conservative party. (over 50% of donations are from hedge funds)
• Business want to stay in Europe.
• Hedge funds would leave Europe rather than accept legislative interference in their right to be greedy and make excessive profits at our expense.
• Hedge fund billionaires have received 10 times more money from the income tax cut (50% to 45%) than they have donated to the conservative party. 
• Hedge funds have been repaid for their donations through the Conservatives stopping the Tobin financial transactions tax.
• This is not business. This is an abuse of good government in the fantasy world of free markets.
• Hedge funds have been allowed to corrupt capitalism and enslave our democracy. I want my democracy back.

Headline is a quote from Leona Helmsley the American “Queen of Mean” sentenced to 16 year for tax evasion. She served less than 2 years in prison. In Britain she would have been made a Dame for services to charity.

Recommended reading - anything by Ha-Joon Chang who knows more about free markets than all our MP's put together. Particularly Bad Samaritans, or 23 things.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/10/with-penalties-so-weak-tax-evasion-is-worth-the-risk

  
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/02/08/city-financing-of-the-conservative-party-doubles-under-cameron/