Britain engulfed in corruption Part II: David Cameron invites tax avoiders to London!

: Written by: Kamran Mofid; Published: 30 June 2012; Hits: 4443

Please note: if you have not read my earlier Blog (Whatever Happened to Moral Compass? Britain engulfed in corruption) please do so before proceeding to read this one.

http://gcgi.info/kamrans-blog/210-whatever-happened-to-moral-compass-britain-engulfed-in-corruption-

In wooing French tax exiles, Cameron makes a mockery of democracy

David Cameron seems to want to turn the UK into a haven for tax avoiders. At least we now know where we stand

"If the French go ahead with a 75% top rate of tax we will roll out the red carpet and welcome more French businesses to Britain and they will pay taxes in Britain and that will pay for our health service, and our schools and everything else."

But hang on a minute. His chancellor said in March, "I regard tax evasion and indeed aggressive tax avoidance as morally repugnant". What's more, Osborne pronounced himself "shocked" at the amount of tax avoidance in the UK. And yet, here's his boss saying the door's open to all and sundry French tax avoiders who want to set up camp in the UK…

Now that's really interesting, because this is the language of tax havens. It's places like Jersey, Cayman and the British Virgin islands who usually talk the language of tax competition that underpins Cameron's comments.

And, of course, it's tax havens such as Switzerland that exist to roll out the red carpet for tax exiles. They all do it by offering low tax rates – something the UK is also capable of doing through its generous tax residence rules and domicile rules. Perhaps it's no surprise that Philip Stevens of the Financial Times recently quoted a German official saying that the UK opting out of a European banking union would turn us into a "Greater Guernsey". Could it be that with these comments Cameron has confirmed that "tax haven UK" is the new plan that he and George are hatching?"...