Lewis Hamilton 'dodged' VAT
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 6:13 pm
Zoue wrote:He took advice from a professional and acted accordingly. Anybody who's ever taken out an ISA has taken steps to minimise their tax bill and the rich just do it on a different scale. Whatever the outcome, the focus should be on the professional tax advisors, not their clients. But I doubt that will stop the witch-hunters
Exactly. Why would anyone over pay taxes? Let the yahoos scream about it. Only a fool overpays.ReservoirDog wrote:Smart guy. You'd be stupid to pay any more taxes that you have to.
The focus should be on the tax laws. The advisors, if they are law abiding, simply follow the laws as written.Zoue wrote:He took advice from a professional and acted accordingly. Anybody who's ever taken out an ISA has taken steps to minimise their tax bill and the rich just do it on a different scale. Whatever the outcome, the focus should be on the professional tax advisors, not their clients. But I doubt that will stop the witch-hunters
Not convinced by the "I hired someone to save me money and they advised me to do something illegal/immoral, so I did it, but I have no responsibility because I was unaware it was illegal/immoral" defence. It certainly wouldn't hold up in the case of illegality.Zoue wrote:He took advice from a professional and acted accordingly. Anybody who's ever taken out an ISA has taken steps to minimise their tax bill and the rich just do it on a different scale. Whatever the outcome, the focus should be on the professional tax advisors, not their clients. But I doubt that will stop the witch-hunters
Wealthy people don't work like that, especially those not involved in or brought up around finance - I could be wrong of course but Hamilton particularly doesn't strike me as the kinda guy who wants to be distracted by managing his own portfolio. They hire a guy, that guy provides a return on investment.wolfticket wrote:Not convinced by the "I hired someone to save me money and they advised me to do something illegal/immoral, so I did it, but I have no responsibility because I was unaware it was illegal/immoral" defence. It certainly wouldn't hold up in the case of illegality.Zoue wrote:He took advice from a professional and acted accordingly. Anybody who's ever taken out an ISA has taken steps to minimise their tax bill and the rich just do it on a different scale. Whatever the outcome, the focus should be on the professional tax advisors, not their clients. But I doubt that will stop the witch-hunters
Most people who have ISAs have some idea of how they work and why they are allowed, even if they were advised of their existence by someone else and don't have the time/expertise to set one up for themselves. It's not a stretch to say that very rich people have a similar level of knowledge when they send millions to a foreign account and get it back as a loan they don't have to pay back. Or they pick up their private jet from a tax haven and don't have to pay tax on it.
Unless ignorance (and they extent to which it can be excused) somehow scales with wealth?
many use a variety of schemes which limit their tax liability. When I do my tax return I engage an expert who tells me what I may and may not do and I often end up doing things I wouldn't have dreamt of doing independently. And as far as pensions go it may as well be discussed in Latin for all the understanding I have of it. All on a pretty small scale, unfortunately. And I know people with one-man limited companies who seem to pay no tax at all and it's all above board. The wealthier you are, the more disposable income you have and the more it becomes necessary to take expert advice to ensure you maximise your assets. If it was simple, anyone could do it and there wouldn't even be tax advisors. But there has to be a certain amount of trust in the professionals that what they are doing is legitimate and if they assure you that it is then you shouldn't have to second guess thatwolfticket wrote:Not convinced by the "I hired someone to save me money and they advised me to do something illegal/immoral, so I did it, but I have no responsibility because I was unaware it was illegal/immoral" defence. It certainly wouldn't hold up in the case of illegality.Zoue wrote:He took advice from a professional and acted accordingly. Anybody who's ever taken out an ISA has taken steps to minimise their tax bill and the rich just do it on a different scale. Whatever the outcome, the focus should be on the professional tax advisors, not their clients. But I doubt that will stop the witch-hunters
Most people who have ISAs have some idea of how they work and why they are allowed, even if they were advised of their existence by someone else and don't have the time/expertise to set one up for themselves. It's not a stretch to say that very rich people have a similar level of knowledge when they send millions to a foreign account and get it back as a loan they don't have to pay back. Or they pick up their private jet from a tax haven and don't have to pay tax on it.
Unless ignorance (and they extent to which it can be excused) somehow scales with wealth?
Don't know about Trump but Lewis isn't evading tax he is avoiding it. One is illegal one isn't.Blinky McSquinty wrote:Trump does the same thing, he uses his lawyers to find ways to evade paying taxes.
For the love of god think of the children!!!!andrewinwork wrote:All the money in the world and still looks at ways to avoid paying tax - tax that amongst other things pays for medical care for his fans.
jiminwatford wrote:If he gets into trouble for using it outside business use then fair enough
Any fuss over him using the scheme itself is just that
Different people have different morals. Bono, who has been caught up on this, seems to have a story which really checks out and I genuinely believe him when he says he wants everything above board.Zazu wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/n ... ise-papers
This article has the best graphic explaining how the tax was reclaimed
I do not grasp the 'everyone would use loopholes to pay as little tax as possible if they could' argument at all. Especially as there's no chance Hamilton will come out and admit to that
Probably qualifies him even more for a knighthood, if you want to see elaborate tax avoidance on a grand scale then look no further than the UK Establishment.jmc651 wrote:Thats the knighthood out the window
I think the timing is not too bad. Ok he has to face the media but with two races remaining he has a chance to distract the conversation away with what he does on track.cmax wrote:Whether he broke the law or not, this came at a bad timing for Lewis. Just as the season is about to end wuth him already crowned a champion. He must have been thinking I am going to have a relaxing couple of race weekends. Now he is going to be faced with media scrutiny and a barrage of questions from the media in the paddock.
Isn't his company in the UK? Or one of his companies? They'd have to be taxedReservoirDog wrote:Why does he even have to pay VAT when he's not a British resident?
The Bono bashing has been off the scale over the last 24 hoursEnnis wrote:Different people have different morals. Bono, who has been caught up on this, seems to have a story which really checks out and I genuinely believe him when he says he wants everything above board.Zazu wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/n ... ise-papers
This article has the best graphic explaining how the tax was reclaimed
I do not grasp the 'everyone would use loopholes to pay as little tax as possible if they could' argument at all. Especially as there's no chance Hamilton will come out and admit to that
Some people opt for 'moral' food, 'moral' business choices, 'moral' tax arrangements. I agree this makes them a better person than most. I also agree there's no way Hamilton is going to come out and say "I want to pay as little tax as possible", I think Trump is the only person who's managed to carry this argument well and he seems to be able to somehow carry anything well.
But really, sportspeople/showbiz people with no finance background getting someone else to manage their affairs? Not even news.
Rightly so if this article is right:mcdo wrote:The Bono bashing has been off the scale over the last 24 hoursEnnis wrote:Different people have different morals. Bono, who has been caught up on this, seems to have a story which really checks out and I genuinely believe him when he says he wants everything above board.Zazu wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/n ... ise-papers
This article has the best graphic explaining how the tax was reclaimed
I do not grasp the 'everyone would use loopholes to pay as little tax as possible if they could' argument at all. Especially as there's no chance Hamilton will come out and admit to that
Some people opt for 'moral' food, 'moral' business choices, 'moral' tax arrangements. I agree this makes them a better person than most. I also agree there's no way Hamilton is going to come out and say "I want to pay as little tax as possible", I think Trump is the only person who's managed to carry this argument well and he seems to be able to somehow carry anything well.
But really, sportspeople/showbiz people with no finance background getting someone else to manage their affairs? Not even news.
I'm not sure the DM can really complain about other people's tax avoidance schemes...Siao7 wrote:Rightly so if this article is right:mcdo wrote:The Bono bashing has been off the scale over the last 24 hoursEnnis wrote:Different people have different morals. Bono, who has been caught up on this, seems to have a story which really checks out and I genuinely believe him when he says he wants everything above board.Zazu wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/n ... ise-papers
This article has the best graphic explaining how the tax was reclaimed
I do not grasp the 'everyone would use loopholes to pay as little tax as possible if they could' argument at all. Especially as there's no chance Hamilton will come out and admit to that
Some people opt for 'moral' food, 'moral' business choices, 'moral' tax arrangements. I agree this makes them a better person than most. I also agree there's no way Hamilton is going to come out and say "I want to pay as little tax as possible", I think Trump is the only person who's managed to carry this argument well and he seems to be able to somehow carry anything well.
But really, sportspeople/showbiz people with no finance background getting someone else to manage their affairs? Not even news.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... dards.html