by Peter Goddard
Let’s play a game.
Add another word to the following to make a popular phrase… “Tax _____”
What did you answer? Burden? Evasion? Avoider? Loophole?
Whatever it was, the chances are you weren’t thinking anything positive. “Tax hero”? “Tax Embracer”? Unlikely.
The debate around tax, on both side of the political divide always seems to revolve around who isn’t paying enough, who is benefitting too much and inevitably, who is cheating.
But whilst the activities of UK Uncut and their ilk play a valuable role in exposing corporations and individuals who are paying far less than their perceived fair share, are we missing a trick on the other side of the equation?
When I donate £25 to Save the Children, I receive an effusive thank you and the assurance that I have bought ‘safe birth kits’ for five women giving birth at home.
When I give £10 a month to adopt a leopard with the World Wildlife Fund, I receive an effusive ‘thank you’ from the recipients. I also receive regular updates about my newly-saved jaguar and, if I want, a cuddly toy.
And yet when I pay thousands of pounds each year to HMRC, what do I get? To stay out of prison.
Whilst I am a huge fan of not going to prison, it is hardly surprising that thousands of people and companies choose to minimise the amount of tax they pay, sometimes using the mechanism of giving money to charity to reduce their payments.
Either way, the individual is paying out, but at least with charity they have a feeling of wellbeing and a cuddly leopard to show for it.
So why is nobody making any attempt to celebrate the people who do indeed “pay their way”?
