As the Guardian reports this morning:
Attempts by the Barclay brothers, owners of the Daily Telegraph, to obtain a £1bn VAT windfall from the British taxpayer, are leading to criticism of the way their offshore commercial empire is structured.
The much-delayed broadcast of an investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme into the Barclays' tax affairs focuses on the Ritz hotel, another of their assets. The hotel in London has paid no corporation tax for the past 17 years by legally claiming reliefs.
As is apparent from media reports, I was interviewed during the making of this programme.
But until 8.30 this evening on BBC1 I am no more aware of what it actually says than anyone else.
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thanks for the heads up, will watch the programme – what i find a bit odd is this line though “The hotel in London has paid no corporation tax for the past 17 years by legally claiming reliefs.” – does this now count as news !?!?
It was recorded months ago
Indeed, the broadcast was “much delayed”. I think Private Eye has reported this. The Barclays must be spitting feathers. Good. Desmond (Express) has been fingered on TV for tax dodging. Murdoch’s reputation is in tatters, although not for the tax dodging which News International engages in. When is Monaco based Rothermere going to be exposed?
What a shower who control our ‘free press’.
Carol, is “dodging” part of avoidance or evasion?
Or is it yet another term introduced into the discussion to provoke confusion rather than clarity?
I hope any comments of yours are not “sarky”. Apart from that their wine, I am told, is terrible. This one could run and run. What unnerves me is that compared with some of financial specimens who cream us off, these gentlemen are far from being the worst.
Bet the Telegraph didn’t review. In fact I doubt whether they listed it correctly yesterday – the FT didn’t.
There is the simple graphic overview of the Barclays’ tax-dodging company structure here: http://barclaybrothers.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/the-barclay-brothers-offshore-empire/.
It’s might be legal but it sure is immoral.