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.
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