Margaret Hodge who is, I understand, chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, is making a lot of fuss these days about companies which are avoiding paying much tax.
Ms Hodge, who would probably object to my use of the term 'chairman' and would prefer the imbecilic 'chairperson', is one of those left-wingers who have been coming out of the woodwork ever since Labour were put out of office in 2010. Notwithstanding that she and others were members of the Labour government, they're suddenly coming forward to complain bitterly about various things which they did nothing about while in power.
In the case of Ms Hodge, it is tax avoidance, a perfectly legal measure adopted by very many people and companies in various ways. Indeed, the government even helps people to avoid paying tax through the mechanism of pension contributions and ISAs among other things. When it comes to companies, many find ways of moving their profits around so as to avoid, quite legally, the payment of taxes in particular countries such as the UK. This is not tax evasion which is illegal, it is a perfectly legitimate business practice.
Ms Hodge and others have now decided that this is not acceptable, that is, using the law to one's advantage is wrong. A while ago, David Cameron went so far as to claim that tax avoidance is immoral and this now seems to be the cry from many of our politicians. That their position is ridiculous seems to pass them by.
Government creates the laws by which we live and successive governments have created a vast jungle of laws to cover anything and everything that they believe they can control, including taxation. As a direct consequence of their huge enthusiasm for this pastime, they have made our legal system so complex that few if any know all of it or can understand it. This applies as much to the laws on taxation as to everything else.
What we now have is a system that has so many facets there are a plethora of opportunities for smart tax accountants and lawyers to exploit in favour of their clients. Politicians don't like this and are thrashing around trying to find people to blame, other than themselves of course, and suggesting that perfectly legal financial arrangements are somehow immoral and anti-social. This is so hypocritical as to be almost impossible to believe. One of the principal targets seems to be the HMRC which is being accused of not doing enough to tackle tax avoidance - pardon me, but what can they possibly do to prevent perfectly legal actions ?
For decades if not centuries, our politicians have used every possible means to turn the system to their advantage; they've even enjoyed special arrangements regarding their expenses, pensions and other matters principally aimed at enriching themselves. How they can now have the temerity to complain about others doing the same within a legal framework that they have created is laughable, especially when one remembers that the people making the loudest complaints are those who served for 13 years in a Labour government which did nothing about the matter.
Is it any wonder that politicians have so little credibility with most of the population ?
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