Despite being in the US I have had several calls today from journalists on yesterday’s government announcement on tackling tax avoidance.
I have already commented on this here.
But I reiterate, no one should be taken in by this.
As I showed in a report for the TUC last year, this is no new crackdown or programme — this is just the routine business of tackling the new tax abuse schemes that the tax profession puts forward each year and which cost us about a billion or so a year. The wording used by the government to announce this is, to be polite, massively over the top. Even Mendelssohn at his worst couldn’t have called such routine action a “tax avoidance clampdown” as if it was something new, when that’s just not true.
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http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2010/12/02/6080/
Read the above link by Peter Watt of the labour party.Clearly aimed at you.
@Nick Heathcote
a) You overstate my importance by a long way
b) Do you honestly think New Labour would like me? They’re part of the problem
Are you not happy about the GAAR?
Richard.
Have you seen the press release from ECOFIN?
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/118257.pdf
Looks like Automatic Exchange is dead, for good. Cannot say it is a surprise, can you?
@Adam
When it’s delivered I’ll believe it
@Million Dollar Babe
How you can interpret a press release that commits to automatic information exchange on eight issues as the end of automatic information exchange is beyond me
Richard,
The press release does not tell the whole story.
AIE only covers fiver categories (non-residents’ employment incom, income pensions, dividends, income from real estate).
The extension to the other 3 categories will only take place subject to unanimous acceptance by the member states in 2017.
Interest income, which represents 90% of all savings income, is out of scope, once and for all.
Apologies for terrible typing. The fifth category subejct to AIE is directors’fees.
How do you translate “kicking into the long garss” in Luxembourgish”?
@Million Dollar Babe
Oh what a silly billy you are
Of course interest is not referred to – it’s alrady fully covered by the European Union Savings Tax Directive – so isn’t needed to be referred to here
Now go quietly and get back in your box and note this instead from AP:
“The EU claimed a long-delayed deal Tuesday removing bank secrecy as a reason for blocking information sharing in a bid to clamp down on cross-border tax fraud and boost austerity-battered state coffers.
The European Union’s taxation commissioner Algirdas Semeta said finance ministers had taken “a huge step forward in the fight against tax evasion and tax fraud in the EU” at a time when public budgets are under intense pressure.
“Tax evaders can no longer exploit bank secrecy as an excuse,” he said of new arrangements that will introduce time limits for national tax authorities to answer requests for information on citizens or businesses and parameters for the “automatic” exchange of information.”
Quite so – it’s an advance against tax abuse with Luxembourg and Austria being beaten
@Richard Murphy
I realize you are away from home and with limited ability to check your facts. Once you have a chance to do so, you will be be disappointed. Here is what has been agreed:
– Only 5 types of income, which collectively make up less than 5% of the tax base. Interest and savings income not covered, see also below;
– Administrative assistance limited to data already available to the tax authorities of the country asked for assistance (and not to a resident bank for instance). This will change from 2017 onwards but only for 3 categories, to be agreed by all member states;
– Fishing expeditions clearly excluded, the tax authority making the enquiry must provide the name of the person being enquired, and the tax purpose of the enquiry;
As for interest income, you will have to remind us under what clause of the current European Union Savings Tax Directive it is subject to automatic exchange (here is a little help: the clause does not exist).
And quoting Luc Frieden today: “Il n’y a ?†notre avis pas d’urgence sur ce sujet. Cette directive et la retenue ?†la source pr?©vue pour le Luxembourg et l’Autriche fonctionnent bien”. (translation: “there is in our opinion no urgency on this issue. This directive and the withholding regime contemplated for Luxembourg and Austria are working well indeed”).
The grass is very long where this ball has been kicked.
Lets revisit when you are back.
“Even Mendelssohn at his worst couldn’t have called such routine action a “tax avoidance clampdown” as if it was something new, when that’s just not true.”
Mendelssohn was at the height of his powers in the 1830’s, and although income tax was first introduced in 1842, it is highly unlikely that it would have been of much notice to him because he was in Leipzig and in poor health.
Peter Mandelson on the other hand is quite calling black white and vice versa.
@Alex
😆
@Million Dollar Babe
I remain quite clear – pure wishful thinking on your part
The European Union Savings Tax Directive is in force and is making progress towards change
End of story
@Richard Murphy
Now, that is wishful thinking! I rather think that we will spent many more megs debating this.