UK minister faces questions over tax affairs
Baroness Scotland, the attorney general, is this evening at the centre of mysterious questions regarding the taxation of her former housekeeper's salary. The situation regarding the former housekeeper has been in the press for some time, after it was revealed she was actually an overseas visitor to the UK who had overstayed her visa and was here illegally. Even though the situation seemed to have been addressed when Baroness Scotland was fined £5000 after admitting she failed to keep the necessary paperwork it would appear that more questions are being asked.
At a time when the UK government is attempting to hit each and every person and every company in UK with higher taxes it is something of an embarrassment that these questions, whether they are proved correct or not, are being asked of a high-profile member of the government. However, in many ways it does show how difficult it can be for the UK authorities to keep track of potential tax evasion at a time when money is literally pouring out of the Treasury into various rescue funds.
While income tax rates under the Labour government have remained fairly static for those at the lower end of the scale, we have seen a number of "indirect" taxes introduced (otherwise known as style taxes) which have allowed the government to maintain its promise of leaving income tax rates relatively unchanged for the masses.
Share this..
Related stories
David Cameron announces change in UK green strategy
David Cameron, who many believe will be the next prime minster of the UK, has today outlined a significant change in his Party's green policy which will see more of a carrot approach than a stick approach. There is no doubt that both consumers and businesses in the UK have been hit very hard by opportunistic fines in relation to recycling and many other green issues with concerns that the governme...
Read MoreThe cost of running a home falls by 17%
As more and more people in the UK continue to suffer financially it has been revealed that the cost of running a home in the country has fallen by 17% over the last 12 months. A Halifax report has suggested the cost of running the average home in the UK fell from £8800 to £7300 between 2008 and 2009. This £1500 reduction is significant although unfortunately it does appear to be a different sto...
Read MoreIs Northern Rock back on the rocks?
The management of Northern Rock have today announced that the company will stop paying interest, where legally possible, on all outstanding bonds. In a move which is likely to cause concern within the UK banking system and concern for UK taxpayers, who officially own the bank, the reason for the announcement was a need to retain as much cash within the business as possible.
Bond hol...
Why won't the political parties clarify their tax policies?
Today it was the turn of the Conservative party to come under pressure regarding various comments on UK tax with a suggestion that David Cameron is keeping something back. Yesterday was the turn of the Labour Party to come under pressure after criticism of its pre-budget report reached fever pitch with the suggestion that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are no longer on speaking terms. So why wo...
Read MoreWas Lord Turner right to call the UK banks socially useless?
Amid signs that the UK property sector is starting to pick up, yet liquidity is still very hard to come by in the mortgage sector, Lord Turner's comments describing UK banks as being "socially useless" have grabbed headlines all around the world. As we have covered in some of our earlier posts, this goes way beyond the brief of Lord Turner as chairman of the FSA although his comments have attracte...
Read More