I've always said (veritas, please take note !) that a little tax is better than none at all.

Barclays is to pay 500 million tax that it avoided by using various schemes. All well and good - BUT this could lead to thousands of UK job losses as firms chose to locate to somewhere a little more "friendly".

Before veritas jumps up and down saying "it will never happen" .... consider this.

One major UK firm, Prudential Insurance, is considering upping its HQ from London to Hong Kong (after 160 years here).

The new solvency rules are not friendly enough for the Pru it seems, and the move makes alot of business sense. Only 7% of the firms' business is from the UK, whereas 45% is from Asia.

Push too hard, veritas, and you'll gain a little - but lose alot more.

Good. Tell the Pru to bugger orf then and a new home grown company will take their business. Who the hell wants to insure with a company based in Hong Kong ?

a novel concept..."a little tax is better than none at all." If only all taxpayers could do the same..perhaps offer 5% VAT at the local store.

simple..you earn money in the UK you pay the full tax. End of story. The greatest fantasy is the threat that when they go elsewhere, jobs will be lost as though there isn't a hundred frigging Vodafone or Prudential clones ready to fill the gap.

a rule of capitalism : if there is a gap an entrepreneur will fill it.

veritas wrote:
Good. Tell the Pru to bugger orf then

you are sounding like a (former) British Leyland (Unionised) worker, veritas !

.... and look where it got them !!!!

In The Know wrote:
veritas wrote:
Good. Tell the Pru to bugger orf then

you are sounding like a (former) British Leyland (Unionised) worker, veritas !

.... and look where it got them !!!!

using British Leyland as an example illustrates my point.

It may have gone under (and the reasons are far more complicated than unions/management)but the auto industry hasn't..it's got bigger and stronger making better products.

You have this quaint idea that if a corporation pulls out then the gap will remain. Like if Vodafone were forced to pay their correct tax they may get the hump and go away. Fat chance..why would they leave a great market where big profits are to be made ?

and if they did then it would benefit the other phone providers and create more jobs via them.

a perfect example : a man who has been bankrupt twice in Australia is now the largest private provider of home loans at lower rates than banks. Where does he get the finance from ?...all the banks he is in competition to.

So when i say bugger off to the Pru I mean it..and their customers should to.