Anyone for naming and shaming

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

HMRC Posts Names Of Tax Cheats For First Time

No criminal convictions? How can this be right?

[administrator]

HMRC Posts Names Of Tax Cheats For First Time

No criminal convictions? How can this be right?

And how can the number of people be so small? HMRC doing a sterling job as ever

[jamesbrown]

And how can the number of people be so small? HMRC doing a sterling job as ever

It's pure publicity, i.e. about the "shock factor" of publishing a few names, rather than the precise details of the list. They probably had ten names, but didn't want to create the impression of a top ten.

[The Spartan]

Hahaha no well known names on there, as they know full well if they did they'd be dealing with legal proceedings

[DonkeyRhubarb]

So much for taxpayer confidentiality, which they cite whenever it suits them (eg. doing deals with the likes of Goldman Sachs)

Double Taxation: 26 Nov 2012: Hansard Written Answers and Statements - TheyWorkForYou

"I am unable to give a more precise figure as it would breach HMRC's duty of confidentiality."

They're an effing law unto themselves.

[Zippy]

And how can the number of people be so small? HMRC doing a sterling job as ever

After careful consideration of cash flow (and ability to fund a decent legal team), HMRC is discriminating against all those other multi-million £ cos by not publishing ther details.

[Swamp Thing]

HMRC Posts Names Of Tax Cheats For First Time

No criminal convictions? How can this be right?

Well, it's not at all right, is it? We all know this, but we also know that as this country slip-slides further into an Orwellian future where the organs of state change the rules to meet their myopic objectives, we are relatively powerless to defend ourselves, the low-hanging fruit that we are.

HMRC are too spineless to to really challenge the large multinational organisations with their clever transfer pricing arrangements. It is also too dim-witted to get to grips with the other large-scale tax avoidance tricks employed by these organisations. And besides, why challenge the hand that feeds you? Exclusive: Ex-HMRC Head Joins HSBC Crime Fight - Yahoo! News UK

But hey, there's plenty of us little fish...

If I was that bar owner/hairdresser/coach operator on HMRC's sin-list, I would just ignore it and get on with life. It wouldn't stop me generating new business, and I think most clients would understand that HMRC is taking a cheap shot by sliming someone's reputation.

HMRC's tactic reminds me of that line in V for Vendetta:

“Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission."

The future has arrived.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Well, it's not at all right, is it? We all know this, but we also know that as this country slip-slides further into an Orwellian future where the organs of state change the rules to meet their myopic objectives, we are relatively powerless to defend ourselves, the low-hanging fruit that we are.

HMRC are too spineless to to really challenge the large multinational organisations with their clever transfer pricing arrangements. It is also too dim-witted to get to grips with the other large-scale tax avoidance tricks employed by these organisations. And besides, why challenge the hand that feeds you? Exclusive: Ex-HMRC Head Joins HSBC Crime Fight - Yahoo! News UK

But hey, there's plenty of us little fish...

If I was that bar owner/hairdresser/coach operator on HMRC's sin-list, I would just ignore it and get on with life. It wouldn't stop me generating new business, and I think most clients would understand that HMRC is taking a cheap shot by sliming someone's reputation.

HMRC's tactic reminds me of that line in V for Vendetta:

“Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission."

The future has arrived.

Agreed - how have we reached a position where no-one has to think for themselves and virtually everything is State regulated?? Orwell and Ayn Rand were worryingly accurate in their portrayals

[Boo]

Orwell and Ayn Rand were worryingly accurate in their portrayals

Now there's two names you don't often find in the same sentence

Boo2

[Wanderer]

HMRC Posts Names Of Tax Cheats For First Time

Great! So they've netted themselves a publican, a hairdresser, an off-licence, a grocer, a plumber and a builder plus some other small fry. Now they scrawl the names on the toilet wall in order to "name and shame" them. Definitely a big win for HMRC.

Here's a few others they could also go after when they have finished toasting their success:

• Amazon's billion-dollar tax shield
• Barclays secret tax avoidance factory that made £1bn a year profit
• RBS avoided £500m of tax in global deals
• Google boss: I'm very proud of our tax avoidance scheme
• Starbucks avoids UK taxes