Proud to be a British Peer But Don’t Make Me Pay UK Tax

Have you heard the one about the British peer who claims to be non-domiciled in the UK?  Not ‘non-resident for tax purposes,’ but apparently ‘not domiciled in the UK?’  We’re talking about Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of Britain’s conservative party who also has a seat in the influential House of Lords – yet who apparently doesn’t have to pay UK tax on his alleged billions of offshore pounds.  Wow, what a story!

In fact, it’s a story that must make Robert Gaines-Cooper weep.  Mr. Gaines-Cooper recently lost his appeal against the HMRC ruling that he was UK domiciled because of the extent of his personal ties with Great Britain, and therefore he was subject to UK tax on his worldwide assets and income.  Yet Mr. Gaines-Cooper certainly didn’t live in the UK, have a seat in the House of Lords nor hold a peerage, seemingly wholly unlike Lord Ashcroft.  But then again, Mr. Gaines-Cooper wasn’t a huge donor for the conservative party – or the labour party, or any other political party for that matter.  So, that was probably where he went wrong and why he lost his case…

Indeed, it seems you can be proud to be a British peer like Lord Ashcroft and Lord Paul, (another peer allegedly up to the same tax avoidance ‘tricks,’ but this time a labour supporter) – but you can’t make these over privileged people pay tax like the rest of us because they can bend, flaut and even invent the rules to suit themselves.  Does it make you proud to be British and happy to remain in the UK, pouring more and more of your income in the form of tax into the void that is the budget deficit, when you know there are others out there who have massive influence over the direction of this country but who refuse to contribute fairly to it in the form of tax?

The story about Lord Ashcroft, as reported in The Times, just serves to highlight the hypocrisy and inequality that undermines Great Britain and makes it an increasingly unhappy place to live.  Allegedly, Lord Ashcroft is not the only wealthy, politically influential peer to have had the rules relating to taxation bent in his favour – nor is the conservative party the only political party to have within its ranks those who have manipulated the system for their own gains.  No, it’s an endemic, cross party problem that is founded on the class system that has made this country a less and less appealing option as a place to live and make a life.

There are a million things that make Britain great and a wonderful place to be associated with – but the class system is not one of them, nor is the fact that those who hold power can and regularly do exploit it for their own gains.  The story of this particular scandal has broken at a time when it’s been revealed that up to 25,000 council jobs are under threat because Britain is too broke to fund critical frontline services. 

Need we say more? 

Need we point out the unfairness that’s rife and which serves to destabilise British society? 

Or should we just quietly remind you that you do have a choice – you can leave!

You don’t have to stay and be dragged down by the failing economy that’s being left to flounder, wilt and eventually die whilst the political parties and people in power now spend the next X number of weeks ridiculing, shaming and generally doing each other down ahead of a general election?  You can vote with your feet and take your taxable income and move abroad to live somewhere less corrupt, less unfair and less economically damaged!