Paradise Papers

Nick_C

Tromking wrote: »

Are either of those points relevant?

Yes. They show that the story is merely a smear campaign against our head of state. Which is a pity as if there is an issue of real tax avoidance in these papers, it distracts from that.

antrobus

Nick_C wrote: »

Yes. They show that the story is merely a smear campaign against our head of state. Which is a pity as if there is an issue of real tax avoidance in these papers, it distracts from that.

I don't know about 'smear campaign'.

What the Paradise Papers reveal, is that the Duchy of Lancaster (with assets of £500m or so) invested £5m in the Jubilee Absolute Return Fund Limited in Bermuda in 2004 (and sold it in 2010), and then in 2005 put $7.5m into the Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP.

I'm inclined to say, that's very interesting, but SFW.:)

I suppose there might be an issue of transparency, in that we should know where the Duchy of Lancaster invests its money. Perhaps we should ask the respective Chancellors what they knew about these investments at the time? I suspect the answer would be 'sod all', but I know that they were all Labour.

Tromking

Nick_C wrote: »

Yes. They show that the story is merely a smear campaign against our head of state. Which is a pity as if there is an issue of real tax avoidance in these papers, it distracts from that.

Hardly.
The Queen is one of a large number of wealthy UK citizens who are allegedly avoiding tax, there’s no specific smear on our Head of State I would suggest.
The visuals of this are potentially horrendous for the Royals. I would expect a complete volte face on this practice pretty pronto and perhaps a voluntary donation to the UK exchequer as well.

Nick_C

Most sensible people avoid tax.

And the Queen already makes voluntary donations.

90 year old pensioner gets help with her investments. Invests in her own country. Pays her taxes. Not much of a story.

antrobus

Tromking wrote: »

Hardly.
The Queen is one of a large number of wealthy UK citizens who are allegedly avoiding tax, there’s no specific smear on our Head of State I would suggest....

There is no allegation that the Queen is avoiding tax. If only because she has no liability for tax in the first place.

The Sovereign is not legally liable to pay income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax because the relevant enactments do not apply to the Crown...The Queen however pays income and capital gains tax, on a voluntary basis, and inheritance tax will also be paid voluntarily,

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208633/mou_royal_taxation.pdf

Tromking wrote: »

...
The visuals of this are potentially horrendous for the Royals. I would expect a complete volte face on this practice pretty pronto and perhaps a voluntary donation to the UK exchequer as well.

The Queen already makes a voluntary donation to the UK exchequer. Do you have any reason to believe that whatever profits were made on the investments in the Jubilee Absolute Return Fund Limited and the Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP, where not included in the calculation of that voluntary payment?

Tromking

Nick_C wrote: »

Most sensible people avoid tax.

And the Queen already makes voluntary donations.

90 year old pensioner gets help with her investments. Invests in her own country. Pays her taxes. Not much of a story.

You’ll be tellling me she’s independently wealthy next.
Ask yourself why she makes voluntary donations, it’s all about the visuals as I said before.

michaels

Moby wrote: »

Yes there is.

Tromking wrote: »

Good to know that while the country has been going through the austerity ‘era’, the Queen and her advisers have been diverting her money away from the UK tax man. It beggars belief.

Many public sector workers will have a db entitlement that would require a dc pot of over £1m to provide. Where any of this is funded are all the workers aware of every fund that has been used and where it is based?

Tromking

michaels wrote: »

Many public sector workers will have a db entitlement that would require a dc pot of over £1m to provide. Where any of this is funded are all the workers aware of every fund that has been used and where it is based?

The need to fund public sector pensions is one of the many reasons why tax havens under the UK umbrella need to be looked at.
Well brought up.

westernpromise

Everybody should avoid as much ax as possible. Everybody should pay as little as possible. The state should spend as little as possible and forever be looking for ways to take and spend less.

pjcox2005

I'll wait to see what revelations actually come out of this. A UK resident and UK domiciled individual is not going to get through the anti-avoidance legislation and avoid tax by holding offshore assets.

Overseas individuals living in the UK may get tax benefits, but why should their full wealth be taxed here, if they don't permanently reside here or plan to leave at some point.