The Church Times – as disappointing as expected on tax avoidance

Posted on May 8 2012

I mentioned the Church Times (a Church of England publication) and its publication of an extraordinary defence of tax avoidance by chartered accountant Simon McKie last week. I know of several responses having been submitted, but despite the fact that the editor claimed on this blog that the letters page is robust and open for comment just this letter got in:

Sir, – Simon McKie argues that tax-avoidance is not wrong (Comment, 27 April, a response to Niall Cooper, Comment, 16 March, and Paul Vallely, Comment, 20 April); but Nicholas Shaxson, in his seminal 2011 book, Treasure Islands, claims that, while technically legal, by definition it involves – like tax evasion – “getting around the intent of elected legislatures”.
He quotes Denis Healey: “the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison wall,” and points out that “what is legal is not necessarily what is right: slavery and apartheid were both legal in their day.”
PETER GREAVES
2 The Plantation
London SE3 0AB
It's a good letter.
But the failure to open the pages to further response confirms all I thought of the Church Times and its deep biases.

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4 Responses

  1. this is my england says:
    May 8 2012 at 10:35 am

    No surprises at all. Spend some time living in Canterbury. Try to establish an independent retail business in the city centre – or get to know people who have tried to do so. Or simply try to visit the Cathedral without paying a hefty entrance fee. Even if your intention is simply to pray or otherwise connect with the god to whose worship the building is supposedly dedicated. Try any of this and if you hadn’t realised already, you will see that the Church of England is an avaricious and manipulative business with ethics as flimsy as anything you’ll find in corporate-land.

  2. Anthony Zappia says:
    May 10 2012 at 4:07 am

    Hi Richard, I’m not certain what the set-up is in England, but in Australia, Religious institutions and organisations are tax-exempt entities. I’m a Roman Catholic, but I don’t see why the R.C Church, one of the richest of all religions I suspect, is exempt of paying any tax. Charitable works should either be separate from the rest of the organisation, or they should simply get a tax deduction against the rest of their income. One writer in Australia referred to it as the “Purple Economy”. I understand that in Italy, the Vatican has a considerable property and business portfolio.