MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Labor leader Corbyn says UK should consider “direct rule” on overseas territories acting as tax havens
Pressure mounted on Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday to impose “direct rule” on British overseas territories after several of them figured as tax havens in the leaked Panama Papers that have caused ripples around the world. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesWhich rather proves that there is no “direct rule” now - ergo, the BOT's are self governing :-)
Apr 06th, 2016 - 08:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0“If they’ve become a place for systemic evasion and short-changing of the public in this country then something has to be done about it. Either those governments comply or a next step has to be taken.”...
Apr 06th, 2016 - 09:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0Really Mr Corbyn! The next step would be 'becoming independent country', imposing direct rule would place you to the far right of Mr Cameron and his party.
Never thought Mr Corbyn was an empire builder, but then he seems to like Argentina and SA.
So there we have it right from Donkey Corbyn's mouth the BOTs are self Governing and can do what they like without interference from the UK. Will someone show this article to the other world donkey the one and only Marcelo Kohen the dim bat Brit hating Argentine lawyer now residing in the worlds top money laundering country Switzerland.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 09:12 am - Link - Report abuse 0Hang on, is this the same Jeremy Corbyn:
Apr 06th, 2016 - 09:38 am - Link - Report abuse 0She added: “In the end, he is one of 'ours'. Even today, when he comes to our embassy, he arrives with the same bicycle and the same enthusiasm. He is a friendly person with a sense humour, who knows how to listen.” Alicia Castro, Argentinian ambassador quoted in Daily Telegraph 14 Sept 2015
You don't think he's fallen for that mythical Malvinas stuff?
https://www.academia.edu/21721198/Falklands_1833_Usurpation_and_UN_Resolutions
Whatever next, aliens under the bed?
Why is it any Gov't business who has $ where?
Apr 06th, 2016 - 10:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0Unless the funds were illegally obtained, not just tax avoidance, illegally obtained, drugs, bribes, public corruption etc its none of their business. Pure overreach trying to get their grubby hands on other people's money to squander on gov't waste.
#5: Quite a bit of it is illegally obtained: there is a lot of evidence of fake transactions here, much of it related to money laundering.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 10:48 am - Link - Report abuse 0There's also the issue that tax avoidance, on this scale, means that governments are short of revenue that should be theirs. How do they make up that shortfall?
By increasing taxes on the ordinary taxpayer.
So - why do you think it is a good thing for ordinary people to subsidise the wealthy?
Try reading the last paragraph of my post again and post something well thought out.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 11:10 am - Link - Report abuse 0Tax avoidance is not illegal.
How do they make up the shortfall? How about cutting programs?
I can't think of one gov't that has a revenue problem but most definitely have an expense problem.
As I said if its illegal it should be prosecuted but trying to save your personal property from the greedy grubby gov't isn't illegal. Its smart.
Bloody goon. They are not Crown Dependencies (The Channel Islands and Isle of Man are) they are British Overseas Territories. One can excuse many for not knowing the difference, but not him. If he doesn't even know what their status is, why would he know anything about governance ?
Apr 06th, 2016 - 11:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0If they shut these places down they will just move on to banana republics. The thing to do is make life very difficult for them and make bulletproof laws to criminalise the tax evaders and seize their assetts.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 11:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0I would imagine quite a lot of the money from the likes of the South American countrys leaders are from illegal transactions I am waiting for quite a few people like the last Argentine President to be named. that will be fun wont it. However for the average person who has legitimately made money it is not illegal for them to avoid paying tax legally.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 12:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0#7
Apr 06th, 2016 - 12:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Even though tax avoidance isn't illegal, tax evasion is. Not to mention tax avoidance schemes benefit the incredibly wealthy who can reduce their marginal tax rates to very low levels (well below those who actually work and don't just “let their money work”).
As to whether we should more or less government involvement in the economy that's a different matter. The issue at hand is how the burden of tax falls on people at different income levels. As people who benefit the most from society (and that includes the works educated by state and the roads built to ship goods etc. etc.) the richest should pay a larger marginal tax rate.
#8 This is pedantry. Corbyn said, in an unscripted interview:
““Hang on, you are a government of a British dependent territory, a crown territory, you must obey UK tax law, you must not become a harbour for tax avoidance and tax evasion.”
The term ”British dependent territory“ was a term used prior to ”British overseas territory“ which was established in 2001. They are essentially the same thing. Thus using the phrase ”a British dependent territory, a crown territory,” captures, albeit with some out-dated use of terminology, both the current BOTs and the current Crown Dependencies. Even if the wording was clumsy (it was an unscripted interview) the fact he used both implies he knows the difference.
* While I'm generally in favour of fairer distribution of wealth and more state involvement in the economy I'm not a fan of Corbyn's foreign and defence policy.
Why should the rich pay more marginal rate?
Apr 06th, 2016 - 12:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If they're doing nothing illegal why would you want them harassed?
Silly Social Justice nonsense.
You probably wonder why Socialism has failed every time its been tried too.
retard
#12
Apr 06th, 2016 - 12:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Why should the rich pay more marginal rate?”
Because they benefit the most from SOCIETY - they did not earn their wealth in isolation and by more equally distributing wealth we all get richer.
“You probably wonder why Socialism has failed every time its been tried too.”
No country on the planet has adopted a fully capitalist system. Does that mean capitalism has failed? Every single country uses a mix of state involvement and private enterprise. Some nations with large state involvement (e.g. the Scandinavian countries) have higher HDIs than those without large state involvement.
#12 “retard” is that the best you can do? Call me a retard (despite the fact I am **clearly** much more highly educated than you), call me “sad” and tell me to get a “real job”. Me thinks, you've lost every argument and just resorted to pathetic ad hominem attacks.
equally distributing wealth we all get richer
Apr 06th, 2016 - 12:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That's false and has been proved many times over
Social Justice climate change believer
yeah retard
keep posting
Its fun making you look stupid.
“equally distributing wealth we all get richer”
Apr 06th, 2016 - 01:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0OK, last attempt.
The Gini-coefficient is statistic that describes how wealth is distributed. A small Gini-index means that wealth is more equally distribution.
The GDP of a country is measure of the country's wealth.
Look at “gini coefficient vs GDP” on google. There is an inverse relationship between the Gini coefficient and GDP suggesting that more equal societies are richer.
It “suggests” nothing.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 01:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You want to think that so you do.
There's no history that shows when you take from the rich to give to the poor the society is better.
I give you Venezuela, Soviet Union, UK pre-Thatcher but going back quickly and on and on.
I'm beginning to think you're Canadian.
They seem to be the stupidest posters on this board.
#16
Apr 06th, 2016 - 01:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I gave you the evidence (and not just two flawed examples) and you dismissed it in the same way you ignore the evidence for anthropogenic climate change - because it doesn't suit your dogmatic world view. Face it, you're a fundamentalist.
FYI I'm from Yorkshire, thought currently live on the South Coast.
Figures.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 01:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Aww bless... another little prejudice.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 01:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Firstly Corbyn leads the Labour Party in the Uk, not the 'Labor' party, he's not American, secondly he's totally unelectable so it doesn't matter what he says :)
Apr 06th, 2016 - 02:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Prejudice exists because its usually right.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 03:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Prejudice exists because its usually right=wing.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 07:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Way more violence and hate on the left and there always has been.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 07:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Tax havens: English piracy in the 21nth century.
Apr 06th, 2016 - 07:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Some say that Jeremy Corbyn and his labour knights are going to be well shafted at the may elections,
Apr 06th, 2016 - 07:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0perhaps he should save some of his venom for later.
Direct Rule and (Mr Corbyn's) socialism. Surely these are fundamentally contradictory. It's another way of applying Colonialism, since economies would totally be directed from London with all that implies for governance. No: the way out is to strengthen the laws appropriately in -and by- the each territories concerned. Also, go after the lawyers who advise ways to break the laws.
Apr 07th, 2016 - 09:28 am - Link - Report abuse 01.
Apr 08th, 2016 - 11:20 am - Link - Report abuse 0Which rather proves that there is no “direct rule” now - ergo, the BOT's are self governing :-)”
Another point to refute Argentina's red herrings.
@26
Agreed-if a BOT is acting illegally, the UK should seek to persuade the BOT to cease the legal activity, enforcing UK direct rule is colonialism.
Corbyn is pious about political principles, yet like all politicians is not as consistent as he claims.
He wants to aid an Argentine colonial grab on the Falklands whilst ignoring that the Islands run many services through public ownership, (i.e.free healthcare, free education, publically owned utilities etc) and that post 1982, the FIG has nationalised land and assets previously overseas owned, as per the Lord Shackleton (Labour peer) model.
Yet Corbyn does not acknowledge this seemingly 'socialist' (with a small s) policy.
”Direct Rule and (Mr Corbyn's) socialism. Surely these are fundamentally contradictory. It's another way of applying Colonialism”
Corbyn ust another political hypocrite.
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