Quote Of The Month
'Constantly Furious' comes out of retirement:
"This week's question was ...
"Is it acceptable to legally avoid tax?"
To which 57% of the public apparently answered 'No'.
'No'? What?
Dear God, public, what? Did you understand the fucking question? Did you read all of the words? If so, what the living fuck are you on, for Christ's sake?
Can you not see that the only possible answer to this question is 'Fuck off, you idiot from the Sunday Times, this is a pointless and unanswerable question. Stop wasting my time and yours' ?
CF fucking despairs. Time to restart the blog, and right a few of the ever-so-ever-so many wrongs currently crowding the horizon ..."
Welcome back!
There's no hope, is there
ReplyDeleteIts bullsh*t. Forget what people say to opinion pollsters, look what they do.
ReplyDeleteEvery single person who can does work 'on the side' for cash. Builders, plumbers, roofers, plasterers, carpet fitter, car mechanics, repair men, you name it, there's a man who'll 'forget' the odd job when paid in cash.
And every single person wanting a job done asks the question 'Whats the price for cash?', in full knowledge of what that means. Look how many people are out there on Ebay buying and selling and making a bit extra cash, or doing car boot sales, all for cash in hand.
Look at peoples actions not their words when put on the spot. Most are not strong enough characters to be prepared to look bad in public by saying 'Yes, legal tax avoidance is perfectly OK. You, me, we all do it every day', and to back it up with a coherent argument. Most just go with the flow.
If legal tax avoidance was a social no-no, then there would be zero black economy. As there isn't, people are just hypocrites - doing one thing, but prepared to say another when put on the spot about it.
Jim is mixing up legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion.
ReplyDeleteAll legal tax avoidance is OK; the rest, well, I wouldn't want to incriminate myself.
No I'm not mixing them up - the point is if Joe Public is prepared to evade taxes (which he is, or turn a blind eye to other people doing it as long as he benefits too) then saying that perfectly legal tax avoidance is 'wrong' is hypocrisy of the first order.
ReplyDeleteIts all part of the rule of thumb of taxation - everyone thinks taxes on 'the rich' should be higher, 'the rich' being defined as one and a half times whatever the person earns themselves, as that gives them some wiggle room if they get a better job, or promotion. Ergo if 'the rich' are avoiding paying their taxes legally, then thats de facto wrong because they should be paying more not less. Whereas taxes should be lower on people earning whatever the respondent earns so any little fiddles he has going on are perfectly OK because he pays enough tax already.
Its one of those irregular verbs - I pay enough tax already, you have a cash in hand job, he is a tax evader.
Given the option of eating my pastie "in" at a pavement table paying 20% VAT, or sitting at the bus stop makes me a tax avoiding criminal or a 'king idiot then. Must get rid of my ISAS and other tax efficient savings. I despair to think that these doom brains have the same vote as me.
ReplyDelete"Forget what people say to opinion pollsters, look what they do."
ReplyDeleteSpot on!
"Given the option of eating my pastie "in" at a pavement table paying 20% VAT, or sitting at the bus stop makes me a tax avoiding criminal or a 'king idiot then. "
This is what happens when taxes are too complex.