Lord Ashcroft - what a patriot

[minestrone]

They're a valid company at Companies House - what more is there?

Yup, I don't seem to remember the electoral commission being given the right to mark a company as "genuine" or not and when they have not found anything wrong I do not see why his company can be said to be not genuine.

As far as I am concerned he is a British citizen with the right to vote and travels under a British passport, his tax status is neither here nor there.

It shows how buggered the Labour party are when this is the best punch they have.

[AtW]

As I understand it, he pays UK tax on his UK income. Which is exactly the same as the majority of us.

Maybe apart from those who use offshore "loopholes".

At the very least that guy should be kicked out of Lords - clearly it was a requirement for him to become proper tax resident here, and he agreed to it, yet he failed to do it for 10 years. I'd say his agreement to do so should be basis for tax taken from him for this period on his "foreign" earnings.

Mittal is a very different thing - he is definitely foreign and it just so happens he owns a large UK business.

[AtW]

They're a valid company at Companies House - what more is there?

Taxation levels depend on company activities, not whether it is valid or not.

There is a requirement for business to be properly trading in the UK in order to give donations - one of the Lib Dem big donors got slapped for that - he used company shells that did not do any trading yet they gave donations, that's not allowed even though companies were "valid companies at Companies House".

HTH

[Mich the Tester]

Yup, I don't seem to remember the electoral commission being given the right to mark a company as "genuine" or not and when they have not found anything wrong I do not see why his company can be said to be not genuine.

As far as I am concerned he is a British citizen with the right to vote and travels under a British passport, his tax status is neither here nor there.

It shows how buggered the Labour party are when this is the best punch they have.

I told you AtW would help you with your earlier question didn't I?

[DodgyAgent]

So proud to be British he isn't even domiciled here.

I know a lot of expatriates who live abroad cokmpletely who are very patriotic and proud of being British. I also know of a number of Australians, Indians and New Zealanders who live abroad full time who are still proud of their nationalities. So what is your point?

[TheFaQQer]

Yup, I don't seem to remember the electoral commission being given the right to mark a company as "genuine" or not

Then your memory is at fault. In order for a company to be eligible to make donations to a political party it has to be registered in the UK and carry out business here. Failure to do so would be a breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.

and when they have not found anything wrong I do not see why his company can be said to be not genuine.

The investigation is ongoing - the company status is "unclear". One key question for the EC is going to be what happens if they don't rule on the legitimacy of the donations until after the election and they are then found to have been illegal.

As far as I am concerned he is a British citizen with the right to vote and travels under a British passport, his tax status is neither here nor there.

Good for you. I personally believe that if you are making the laws of the land, you should pay UK taxes on your income and be domiciled in this country. So does David Cameron (now) and Lord Ashcroft (in the future).

I also believe that to be a member of parliament (either house) you should be on the electoral roll in this country.

Ashcroft has not done anything illegal, but in the eyes of many, not paying £300 million in tax when you are moaning that the country needs to make massive public sector cuts smacks of hypocrisy.

[minestrone]

Ashcroft has not done anything illegal, but in the eyes of many, not paying £300 million in tax when you are moaning that the country needs to make massive public sector cuts smacks of hypocrisy.

Ahh, so it comes down to the court of public opinion. Glad we got that cleared up.

[TheFaQQer]

Then your memory is at fault. In order for a company to be eligible to make donations to a political party it has to be registered in the UK and carry out business here. Failure to do so would be a breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.

To be precise:

Under Section 54 of PPERA, eligible donors or lenders are:

* an individual registered in a UK electoral register (including bequests)
* a UK registered company which is incorporated within the European Union and carries on business in the UK
* a UK registered political party
* a UK registered trade union
* a UK registered building society
* a UK registered limited liability partnership that carries on business in the UK
* a UK registered friendly society
* a UK based unincorporated association that carries on business or other activities in the UK
* certain kinds of UK-based trusts

When a party receives a donation, it has 30 days to decide whether the donor/lender is permissible.

If a party finds the donor is impermissible, it can return the money to the donor if within 30 days from the day the donation was received.

If a party accepts a donation which is later found by us to be from an impermissible source, the money will have to be forfeited and paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Source: Electoral Commission

Ashcroft can't make donations as an individual, as he is not on the electoral roll. So, the question is whether his company (over £5m in donations since 2003) really does carry on business in the UK.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

I know a lot of expatriates who live abroad cokmpletely who are very patriotic and proud of being British. I also know of a number of Australians, Indians and New Zealanders who live abroad full time who are still proud of their nationalities. So what is your point?

Partly my point was based on a claim Dodgy made that the Tories were proud to British (as if members and supporters of other parties aren't), but to answer your question directly, I believe it's important to demonstrate your committment by living here - otherwise it's lip service - which isn't to totally discount it, but does significantly discount its value imho.

[TheFaQQer]

Ahh, so it comes down to the court of public opinion. Glad we got that cleared up.

Well, of course it does.

Same as it did with Hazel Blears, Lord Hanningfield, George Osbourne, Kitty Ussher, Douglas Hogg, Sir Michael Spicer, David Davis, David Heathcoat-Amory, The Marquis of Lothian, et al.