Lib Dems and HMRC

[Flashman]

Clegg tax war on better-off: Tens of thousands face 'bully boy' investigations in new crackdown | Mail Online

Today Mr Clegg will accuse middle class earners who pay accountants to minimise their tax bills of behaving like ‘benefit cheats’.

He will say that legal tax avoidance and illegal evasion are ‘just as bad’ as falsely claiming benefits, adding: ‘Both come down to stealing money from your neighbours.’

Tax evasion by the better off is to be aggressively pursued in a £900million drive which will see the number of people targeted for tax checks rise from 5,000 a year to 150,000.

Half of all the people paying the new 50p top rate of tax will have their tax affairs raked over by a dedicated team of investigators every year.

Lib Dem sources said the number of criminal prosecutions would increase five-fold.

Could I just give a big hand to all those who voted Lib Dems. Thanks. Really thanks a lot.

[Zippy]

This would never have happened under the Tor ... Oh hang on ...

[d000hg]

I wonder if he hires an accountant.

However isn't the point of the Coalition that the LDs can say what they really think, but acknowledge they don't get too much impact on what happens - i.e the Torys can campaign against Alternative Vote in the referendum (if it happens)?

[NickFitz]

This would never have happened under the Tor ... Oh hang on ...

[shaunbhoy]

Clegg tax war on better-off: Tens of thousands face 'bully boy' investigations in new crackdown | Mail Online



Could I just give a big hand to all those who voted Lib Dems. Thanks. Really thanks a lot.

Try not to let the Daily Wail perspective get to you too much. Really.

[SupremeSpod]

Clegg tax war on better-off: Tens of thousands face 'bully boy' investigations in new crackdown | Mail Online



Could I just give a big hand to all those who voted Lib Dems. Thanks. Really thanks a lot.

Pay your dues and there's no problem.

[AtW]

I don't think they've got problem with people using accountants per se, ie Ltd to calculate corp tax, prepare annual accounts.

The problem they have with people who use accountants to take the piss, ie BN66 folks who appear to genuinely believe they've done everything right.

To solve this problem however they need to massively simplify tax system as well as make it more Americanized: very harsh penalties if you feck around with taxes, and also if you are a British citizen then you pay British taxes regardless of domicile etc. This would cut off 99% of schemes used and remaining 1% can be dealt with New Hard Labour camps somewhere in remote part of Scotland.

HTH

[Jog On]

Does this mean they'll change all the laws so that they can actually force people to pay back what they think they owe?

Or will it be a case of the 'threat' and 'hassle' of bullying investigations will make people cough up/pay more tax in the first place?

If they decide to go after 150,000 a year instead of 5000 but the 'rules' haven't changed won't that end up just being very expensive for HMRC?

[Jog On]

But ministers yesterday appeared to blur the distinction between criminals and ordinary people who try to minimise their tax bill by legal means, or ‘avoidance’.
The detail of the tax crackdown was announced by the Lib Dem Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, who himself used a legal dodge to avoid paying thousands in capital gains tax on his second home.

He said that both legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion were unacceptable and ‘morally indefensible’.

Here we go.. Good luck with this one Nick

Policies an attempt to placate angry members of Lib Dem grassroots

The moves, unveiled at the Liberal Democrat conference, were designed to guarantee his popularity with mutinous grassroots members

Nice to see you've got the nation and economy's interests a heart.....

The Deputy Prime Minister, who earns £134,565 and is married to a high-flying City lawyer, said he would be happy to give up his family’s £2,450-a-year child benefit payments.

WTF are these people claiming child benefit for and how did they qualify in the first place?

[SupremeSpod]

WTF are these people claiming child benefit for and how did they qualify in the first place?

Well, when a Daddy loves a Mummy very much...

How the f**k do you think they qualified?

You have kids, you get child benefit.