2% Villa - Sunday Times report on Tax Avoidance by Premiership Footballers

[Risso]

HMRC are basically above the law and incompetant with it, so good luck to them. I wouldn't give this government any money to spend either if i had the choice

Me either, especially when hypocritical wankers like Danny Alexander cheerfully avoided CGT by exploiting tax laws to his advantage.  So when MPs do it, it seems it's perfectly acceptable to use tax laws to minimise the amount of tax paid.  When anybody else does it, it's immoral tax dodging.

To bring it back to football, Glasgow Rangers got an absolute kicking from the taxman over their use of EBTs.

[lordmcgrath5]

Incidentally, it's not just footballers who indulge in tax avoidance.  There's a founder member of a band beloved of many on H&V that uses IOM schemes to avoid tax.  I'm not going to say who though.

Surely you don't mean the Best Band in the Wirrald?

No, surely not HMHB?

[Risso]

Incidentally, it's not just footballers who indulge in tax avoidance.  There's a founder member of a band beloved of many on H&V that uses IOM schemes to avoid tax.  I'm not going to say who though.

Surely you don't mean the Best Band in the Wirrald?

No, surely not HMHB?

No not them.  I'd be surprised if they'd made enough to make it worthwhile.

[PeterWithe]

Kaiser Chiefs I'd imagine.

[lordmcgrath5]

HMRC are basically above the law and incompetant with it, so good luck to them. I wouldn't give this government any money to spend either if i had the choice

Me either, especially when hypocritical wankers like Danny Alexander cheerfully avoided CGT by exploiting tax laws to his advantage.  So when MPs do it, it seems it's perfectly acceptable to use tax laws to minimise the amount of tax paid.  When anybody else does it, it's immoral tax dodging.

Totally agree that the CGT avoidance (or should that be evasion in their cases?) via second home flipping on the part of MPs is an outrage. The MSPs up here were up to exactly the same tricks but the scheme was brought to an end a couple of years ago. Which still gave quite a few high-profile pillars of the community time enough to make a tidy sum out of the public purse.

[Dave Cooper please]

  Incidentally, it's not just footballers who indulge in tax avoidance.  There's a founder member of a band beloved of many on H&V that uses IOM schemes to avoid tax.  I'm not going to say who though.

Would there be a White Riot if we found out?

This was a whisper I heard a while ago.

[Witton Warrior]

I dislike the idea of these sort of loopholes, but you would if you could, so I don't blame them.

I wouldn't. If I was a multi-millionaire I would realise that it's only fair I pay my share to help build schools, hospitals, etc.

Greedy bastards the lot of em.

Still, we're all in this together...

Me neither. I declare all my earnings as part of belonging to society
It's a choice thing

[Risso]

Tax avoidance requires you to declare all your earnings, else it's evasion.

[lovejoy]

Footballers in immoral issue shocker.
BTW the taxman is in the right here and represents you and I. I get sick and tired of them having to fund big court cases to recver monies from clubs in administration when the players as super creditors get paid in full. The sooner top flight football goes pop the better for me.

[hawkeye]

Its amazing how poor HMRC are at collecting tax let alone stopping people avoid it.

[Caiphus]

If players can pay that small amount of tax, the extra high wages in the premier league compared to europe don't make sense then.

[Risso]

If players can pay that small amount of tax, the extra high wages in the premier league compared to europe don't make sense then.

The wages are a direct result of the Sky billions.  A few clubs with too much money chosen too few players.  It's a market heavily distorted in favour of the players.  Some of those players have taken advantage of aggressive tax avoidance products to reduce the level of tax they have to pay.  The amount of their gross salary is nothing to do with this tax planning.  If HMRC successfully challenge the validity of a scheme, then an individual can be liable for several years worth of underpaid tax, plus penalties and interest, as happened in the recent BN66 case.

[eamonn]

HMRC are basically above the law and incompetant with it, so good luck to them. I wouldn't give this government any money to spend either if i had the choice

Me either, especially when hypocritical wankers like Danny Alexander cheerfully avoided CGT by exploiting tax laws to his advantage.  So when MPs do it, it seems it's perfectly acceptable to use tax laws to minimise the amount of tax paid.  When anybody else does it, it's immoral tax dodging.

Totally agree that the CGT avoidance (or should that be evasion in their cases?) via second home flipping on the part of MPs is an outrage. The MSPs up here were up to exactly the same tricks but the scheme was brought to an end a couple of years ago. Which still gave quite a few high-profile pillars of the community time enough to make a tidy sum out of the public purse.

So it's The Manic Street Preachers Risso was on about then...

[dcdavecollett]

The idea behind the so-called Peace Tax was that you had to pay your 'fair whack of tax -whatever that was- but all tax payers would choose what their taxes would be spent on from a menu of options.

I presume the idea was that people would be a little happier to cough up the conkers if they had a say as to where it was going.