Hodge the Dodge: Named and Shamed
Tax dodgers need to be “named and shamed” by HMRC says the Public Accounts Committee chaired by Margaret Hodge. “We’ve got to simplify our tax system and I think naming and shaming not just of the sort-of Jimmy Carrs, but of these providers, these whizz kids, so that we know who they are, is powerful“. Her Committee reports that there is a “game of cat and mouse and HMRC is losing”.
Well some fat cats put their shareholdings in family trusts to avoid inheritance taxes. Fat cats like Margaret Hodge…
The company share register for Stemcor shows that Hodge holds several million pounds worth of shareholdings in trusts, including for members of her family. Her family’s firm Stemcor confirmed that she has “shares held in trust or in her children’s names”. As Polly Toynbee helpfully explained, this is a clever way of minimising future inheritance tax liability:
“The big sell is trusts, special ones devised for this company’s clients, guaranteed to protect almost all your wealth from inheritance tax. They are right, it can be done easily. Put all moveables and all cash and investments into a discretionary trust, and it passes to your heirs without tax as soon as you die, not even waiting for probate. It counts as a gift so the beneficiaries need pay no tax either.”
Guido has challenged Hodge repeatedly over the last few months to explain the purpose of placing her Stemcor shareholdings in a trust other than to reduce the future inheritance tax liability of her relatives. She has yet to reply – what a shame…
See also: Hodge the Dodge Hypocrisy in Full
Good morning everyone! How are you all this morning?
Owen Jones’ conception of ‘someone new to politics’: A white, cis, middle class dude straight out of University debating soc.
We cannot have a system where super rich pay less tax than his / her PA. Or a system where big chain pays less tax than the local coffee shop. This went on for years and years, even under last labour government.
This is why government should have a balanced budget, if they want to increase spending they have to raise taxes not debt. If they have to raise taxes they have to justify to voters.
We can’t have a system which demands too much in tax. The higher the total tax take, the more avoidance and outright evasion there will be, particularly from the high earners.
Reduce total tax take, and state spending, and the problem of tax avoidance will diminish markedly.
Even if you cut tax to 20% super rich will evade, just take Russia as the example.
Its not just the size of the tax take, as important as that is. Poeple object to being taxed by corrupt politicians and venal, self serving civil servants and public sector ‘employees’. We pay too much tax and what we pay is wasted on an industrial scale. Why would anyone pay it if they had the choice?
Anonymous – read Marmite’s comment. It is spot on.
Engineer, most of super rich will always object, others haven’t got the choice so they are forced to pay. Expense of protecting the super rich’s interest are subsidised by middle class.
Just take tax heaven, non of us have any economic interest in what happens to these islands. UK give these islands money and spends billions protecting these islands.
A hypocritical MP, grasping at their cash while the rest of us pay in full?
Who’d have thought?
Anony – We can’t have a system where the government appears to want to persecute and discourage companies and the general public from making an effort to earn or have any possessions, by squeezing them for every last pound of tax on those earnings and possessions, and government then spending our hard earned money on schemes and projects we don’t want or approve of, and disgustingly lining their own pockets.
@Anonymous . . the weasels in the BBC who reduced their tax bill by “consulting” and the like were not “super rich” you know.
Why should anybody pay more tax than they are legally required to? Are you, and Hodges, suggesting tax should be voluntary based on some arbitrary concept of “just”?
The tax structure is designed to achieve various ends and if you can use it to your advantage I say “well done” and I would hope to learn from you to my own advantage.
Just take Russia a an example…. Give us some evidence you stupid fuck.
Well who would have thought that Hodge was a tax dodger? Just about everyone I suppose, this blatant hypocrisy is at the heart of all Labour stands for.
I don’t think she is.
As much as I detest Hodge and all she stands for, minimising the amount the state can steal from you, is entirely acceptable behaviour.
The stench of her hypocricy and the marxist moralising that tax is good and the state should take whatever it wants, to enable it’s fraudulent ‘help the little people’ lie, is utterly nausiating.
Tax is theft, issue is more than 85% hasn’t got the choice. Only the super rich and self employed who are paid cash in hand avoid tax.
Next time you get a 12 year old labour socialist MP/activist who has done precisely fuck all in the real world and they are telling you how selfish the rich are and just before you tell them to fuck off remind them of the fact that people are finally waking up from the nightmare that being well intended and prepared to help out our fellow man is completely different from socialism. I do this all the time now, you should see the reaction on their faces, it’s really beautiful.
But Guidos benefactor News Corp only pays 11% corporation tax. Is Guido acting as Ruperts attack dog?
more his bitch
Good luck to them, the lower the tax base the more incentive to invest and employ.
The only people who pay corporation tax, or any tax for that matter, are ultimately the end users, the general public.
11% of what?
If you say “sales” or “business generated” I will scream.
What do you mean by that? Are you saying News Corp has a special tax rate or is it that NC takes advantage of capital expenditure allowances, stock write down, fixed and moveable asset depreciation etc. etc.
What is odd is people complaining that more tax than is legally required should be paid. I say bollocks to that and the only reason the little guys haven’t got much room to wriggle is because their tax affairs are simple.
Lets go to a flat tax on expenditure. Nobody escapes and all the tax consultants are out of work. Reagan tried it in the USA.
Even under the last government? Especially under the last government ypu mean, led by Gordon Brown’s economic chicanery which created so many loopholes to allow this sort of tax avoidance to flourish.
It is so incredibly hypocritical of her to now steal UKIP policies and demand a simplification of the tax system, when her party made our tax system the longest in the world.
The complexity of the tax system is a big problem, too. The PA’s tax affairs are pretty simple, so he/she doesn’t need to hire an accountant. The slightly better off, however, have to complete self-assessment forms; they’re complex, and if you get them wrong, you’re fined. Hence you hire an accountant. And the accountant – offering value for money – suggests various ways to reduce your tax liability.
A flat-rate tax would help everyone (except accountants).
Indeed, an across the board, low flat tax, is an entirely sensible way forward. You could get rid of two thirds, if not three quarters of HMRC, at a stroke and raise more revenue with much lower collection cost.
For the super rich current tax system is the biggest help to avoid tax.
Someone told me about a charity run by a rich guy, he pays money into it he goes out to India to help. Only issue is he goes out to India on holiday paid by his charity. Money spent on his expense is more than what is given out.
you have worked hard all your life, saved, have a nice house and car.
i have sponged off of society and pissed money against the wall.
why should you have a nice house.
i want a chunk of that . . . politics of envy.
The chosen ones allways have an overbearing sense of entitlement…look at Denis MacShame.
You are Joseph Mengele and I claim my 5 lampshades.
In Berlin there are two holocaust museums, one for the entitled, the other for the plebs, under several thousand slabs. Visit this one.
If she is doing so she will not produce reports like this. So I trust her.
Then you are a cretin.
Maybe she’s your granny.
Go back on strike with all the other commies
Bulgarian and Romanian living standards 9 times higher in the UK…
Why wouldn’t you come and live here….
Why won’t the government publish estimates for immigration from these countries ?
Local councils will need to make contingency plans, don’t worry about 1 lady with 10 kids getting a 6 bed house, there are going to be 100,000s of these families arriving end December 2013….
All to be paid for by you stupid plebs and higher taxes…
An arrival of this quantum could cause a serious breakdown in services in London, and possibly civil unrest.
Why won’t the government release the numbers ?
They are being reckless and dangerous. It is a disgrace.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280853/Romanians-times-better-come-Britain-Our-minimum-wage-draw-huge-numbers-says-study.html
Envy Hodge – taxes are for the little people, not me.
envy hedge.
.
god b.less
.
tony b.liar
.
gold morning to all on a lovely morn.
and where is that strawberry waffled ice cream. be happy
“including for members of her family”
Is that mangled grammar, or should it be “four”?
Incidentally Guido, did the gobby, hypocritical fat cow ever come through on her threat to sue if you persisted in calling the fat, hypocritical tax-dodging cow a tax dodger?
Tim Montgomerie failed completely to mention her hypocrisy on the Pandy Marr show a couple of weeks ago when tax-dodging was discussed. He is a closet WunNooLaBor arse though, isn’t he!
Didn’t she say on Brillo’s show that she’d be taking action against all those who’d claimed she was dodging tax? What happened to that then, Hodge? Where are your lawsuits?
What a politician says and what a politician does are two entirely different things.
e.g. Dimwit Dave vows to reduce immigration “to the tens of thousands”, then jets off to India and invites 1.2 billion people to come and live here.
Dave is an idiot. This will stand up in court if anyone charges him with treason.
Don’t forget there’s another ten million on their way from Romania and Bulgaria next year. Would you turn down a ten times improvement in your living standard?
What is “hello” in Roumanian ?
J.S.A.
Dave’s a two faced heir to Blair traitorous twat!
I promised to close a holiday camp in Cuba.
We will give Maragret Hodge maximum airtime, and our presenters will gush with affection when Her Glorious Socialist face appears before them.
We will never ever ever ever ever point out that she’s a typical tax-dodging Labour hypocrite.
+1
Being partly funded by the TV tax, we concur.
We cannot overstate our admiration of our loyal Labour hypocrite Margaret Hodge and all she stands for. We will laud her to the skies every day in her duty to demolish capitalism and prove that some of us are more equal than others.
Death to the Conservatives.
Ah, the old duck and weave from Hodge.
She’s been flushed out as a tax dodger and a hypocrite to boot. Nobody will believe a word she says!
She doesn’t care if you believe her or not. She expects to stay in power because our ‘democracy’ has been rigged to ensure that she and her ilk will remain troughing away and protecting their self interests.
Toynbee is not the best at facts. Discretionary trusts pay IHT at upto 6% every ten years on non business assets. Non business assets of more than £325k transferred to a discretionary trust are taxed at up to 25% initially and income and gains within the trust are taxed at the highest rate, up to 20% further IHT is paid if the settlor of the trust dies within 7 years of making the gift. So it is hardly a dodge. But no doubt there will be some ill thought out knee jerk reaction to this which will end over a thousand years of trust law with massive unintended consequences.
The problem is not with those using legal means to reduce their tax liability – if the law says it’s legal, why the hell shouldn’t they? The problem is unnecessarily complex tax legislation, and the blame for that lies with the legislature.
Simplify tax legislation, and most of the avoidance problems will disappear. But do so with care – if taxation becomes punitive, those payers who can will move their affairs elsewhere, and small blame to them, either.
Totally agree – but as with private education, the political issue is Lefty MPs vilifying others for doing what they themselves do.
Avoiding paying tax is not just legal. It is a civic duty.
Hear! Hear !
Agreed – but Hodge is accusing others of what shes herself.
Is she a closet LibDem ?
Yes she has.
The word for that is hypocritical.
We were discussing this last night. She sets out to be. That is unforgivable. It sometimes happens in your life that you can find yourself holding two views which conflict with each other. That can still be honest depending upon whether you trade on the difference or not.
We have a Polish saying that two men in an argument have three opinions.
Another one for my collection, although I seem to remember hearing it said about several different nationalities in the past, including the Greeks.
Whatever, it is better than one person who has no opinion.
That would be me then
What do you expect? She reads the Grauniad.
Something something sexual abuse of children in Islington Council care.
in the world of tax is theft…the rest of the universe is being sidelined in favour of mother earth. but does no one like basking in the glow of father sun……now yu see why one’s male child is called son.
sidestep.
Something the Hodge creature was up to her neck in and something that other disgusting worm Bliar ignored, when he made the vile woman chillingly, Minister for Children in 2003.
The political classes do love their little in jokes don’t they?
antisemite! antisemite! antisemite!
That the Vicky Pryce jury are still out can only mean one thing.
They don’t want to go back to work?
They’re not back yet ?
It means only one thing. They are considering the evidence.
That they’ve not yet reached a decision?
One out, all out! Are you with us, brothers?
Some trusts are deadly.The Mid Staffordshire 1200 did’nt perform very well at all.
Indeed. Why pay tax for services like that?
The NHS Liverpool Death Pathway is another fine example of socialism in action.
We will bring in a Pathway Tax.
As loyal Fabians we had to introduce a system of euthanasia that despatched the old, the unfit, the feeble minded and others, unworthy of our Socialist ideals and from who we needed to protect the human race.
The Liverpool Eugenics (sorry Care) Pathway is the way forward and coming to a place near you…soon.
Tax is for the little people!
Heightist!
Agreed, 21 days in Jail for her.
Hodge, a-like today’s a-weather is a bit foggy.
Looks as if third world recognition for Britain is closer than we thought, better buy a generator as soon as you can, the greens and the EU are determined to destroy this country, this woman , I think is trying to have her cake and eat it, she will get found out.
She is trying to steal our cake and eat it.
Isn’t she Egyptian?
Madge Hodge rhymes quite neatly with Tax Dodge. Coincidence ?
She was on the telly today, but I am afraid I did not listen to a word she was saying, so I am unable to furnish a report. Maybe somebody can help?
The way to deal with tax avoidance is firstly to tighten up the enabling legislation secondly cut out the exemptions and thirdly keep everything simple .
That is the way to deal with this silly problem . You don’t go around bleating trying to catch your tail and passing ever more ill conceived and ill drafted legislation .
Hilary Mantel should write a description of Margaret Hodge to atone for what she said about Kate.
AND NOTE.
OUR MPs ARE NOT ATTACKING HER HYPOCRISY.
MOST OF THEM HAVE DONE THE SAME.
ATTACKING COMPANIES FOR AVOIDING TAX IS POLITICAL FLAVOUR OF THE YEAR AND THE PUBLIC LIKE IT, EVEN IF PEOPLE ARE AVOIDING TAX IN THEIR OWN PRIVATE AFFAIRS
BE OF NO MISTAKE WHAT HODGE IS DOING IS NO MORE WRONG THAN HOLDING AN ISA JUST AS IT IS NOT WRONG FOR A COMPANY TO AVOID TAX.
Don’t shout
It’s a shame the Mid Staffs 1200 werent horses and died when the Tories were in office.
New evidence has been found outside the Pistorius home that completely acquits him of his girlfriend’s murder.
Footprints.
In my local French newsagent they sell magazines explaining how to fill in your tax returns.
This year there was a publicity flyer marked ” do not pay a penny more tax than you need to ” .
If you dare publish such a thing in England are you going to be arrested ?
Marvellous innit. This extreme socialist fat cat just shakes herself and returns to her trough of warm milky money! HMRC let her shit on their heads and they say ‘Thanks’.
More Guidoismus is needed!
The battle is lost Guido.
It is politicians that make the laws under which all are governed. If there is tax avoidance then it is down to politicians – they are the fools that enable it.
But you are barking up the wrong tree with Dame Hodge of the Lodge. She is virtuous and fragrant in all respects. She is Labour, so how could she be otherwise?
I actually visited my local tax office last year because I could not understand how I was supposed to answer some of the questions ;
When I left that esteemed office I realised I was not the only one !
What is all this about helicopters ?
I once went to Yeovil so I want to know .
I do not know whether it is just me but when Mr Cameron opened his mouth I did not believe a word of what came out .
We shall be introducing a Speaking Tax shortly.
What a coincidence, I never believe anything a welsh person says.
There is something about labour MPs that let’s them call others, but when the spot light is on them it becomes a different matter.
Hodge the Dodge has got more front than Blackpool.
Choice improves the quailty of supply. At present government services are rubbish and getting worse. Most of your tax money is simply stolen by special interest groups pushing none sense like “AGW” . A hige prtion goes to supporting people who hate us and awarding free house to peoplewho don’t want to work as hard as you do to buy yours. And as for the much vaunted schools ‘n’ hospitals well :
1) Hospitals humilate, torture, and murder our old people.
2) Schools fill the heads of our children witH relatuvism and PC nonesesnse handicapping them in competition with Indian and Chinese children enjoying a fact based objective education..
The purpose of tax havens – though I like tax “heaven” – is to provie a legal “choice” about which jurisdiction deserves your taxes. A Parliament of thieves and liars does not.
Of course a good part of the UK economy is traded in cash – drugs / prostitution / racketeering by unregitered aliens and this escapes all scrutiny(let alone self rightous pontification from hodge the Dodge or polly Twaddle.
The least efficient way to spend money is to give money for one party (e.g. a civil servant) from another party (e.g. a taxpayer) to spend on a third party (e.g. a benefits recipient). You get neither value for money nor something the recipient needs.
I think I’m banned. Same as on Komment macht Frei.
I must be doing something right.
Maybe it is because I think Vlad the Impaler was too left wing. A real humanitarian.
Ah, the Laffer Curve in action . . .
“she has yet to reply ”
To a blogger?
This is an outrage!
Q. What is the difference between Pistorius and Huhne?
A. Pistorius couldn’t shoot himself in the foot if he tried….
Margaret Hodges portfolio includes:
Grandstanding
Hypocricy
Cover Ups
I recall a video clip guido put on the blog where a newsperson was asking. Hodge if these accusations about tax evasion trusts etc persisted would she take lagal action .
Hodge replied to the effect. Oh. Yes Indeed !!
Why are we waiting ??
BTW. Gweed. … Wy has the Pryce thread suddenly dissappeared ?
Hypocrite!
Now I am about to get jolly cross about this visa thing. No sooner have we stopped ind.ian jonnies coming in than we are going to open the gates to all one billion as our new friends.
Tax planning for IHT – also known as tax avoidance – has been used by other members of shadow cabinit
Three things, you bunch of reactionaries.
1 This is all perfectly fine because Margaret Hodge is a well-meaning socialist. It would be totally wrong for a Tory do do the same. Until you realise this you are a danger to progressive society.
2 All taxation is theft with menaces (and by menaces for menaces?)
3 Why has no-one gotten the politicians, lamp-posts and piano wire and put the lamp-posts and wire to good use?
She has the fecking mange, the auld Mickey!