The never ending Bo-Gilly vs Dombo thread

[Jon H]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front ... 630233.stm

[Mike I]

Talk about lazy journalism! No mention of the National 24 hour championship .

[Rob C]

I'm growing this for Sky TV

[Bo-Gilly]

Looks like some right disreputable characters in that article, can't say I know any slippery chancers like that, thankfully.

It's about time they clamped down on this sort of nonsense, so it's always nice to see something being done about it.

Benefit cheating costs this country a lot of money - an estimated £1billion per year apparently. Although this amount pales into insignificance when compared to the [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/10/britains-unclaimed-benefit-billions]£20billion in unclaimed benefit and tax credit[/url] - what's the matter with people why don't they claim what they're entitled to ? We really need to stamp out this "unclaimed benefit culture".

Anyways, it's nice to see that this present government appears to have the political will to clamp down on benefit cheats, £1 billion is a lot of money which under the present economic climate Britain can ill afford to lose - it could have paid for the bombing of Libya.

Yep, I get the distinct impression this government is determined to ensure that those who cheat the taxpayer aren't allowed to get away with it, and about time too.

Although bizarrely, they don't seem to be much bothered about the biggest cheats of all - the tax evaders. Anyone know what that's all about .... it seems very strange indeed.

And tax evasion is a big problem, in fact a problem 15 times bigger than benefit fraud .... just think what the money could be spent on.

[url=http://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/tax-evasion-costs-treasury-15-times-more-than-benefit-fraud/a378274]Tax evasion costs Treasury 15 times more than benefit fraud[/url]

Quote :

"At £30 billion per year, fraud in the UK is more than twice as high as thought, with tax evasion costing the public purse over £15 billion per year and benefit fraud just over £1 billion."

Of course we do hear politicians talk about clamping down on tax cheats, but it doesn't seem to be 15 times more often than they to talk about clamping down on benefit cheats, and they don't seem to be making 15 times more effort to stamp it out. There doesn't seem to be 15 times more newspaper articles on the subject, or 15 times more TV programmes about it. In fact, it hardly ever seems to get mentioned at all. Yup....very peculiar indeed

[Paul H]

Crimes are not prioritised on how much it costs the treasury fortunately.

Im sure nobody condones either but Benefit Cheating sickens me more than tax evasion. Who is the biggest cheater? Somebody who makes a fradulent claim by pretending to be disabled or somebody who does not pay their fair share.

Perhaps there are other social reasons why this crime should be prioritised. What example are these people showing their children.

[Bo-Gilly]

[quote]Benefit Cheating sickens me more than tax evasion

[quote="Bo-Gilly"]
Although bizarrely, they don't seem to be much bothered about the biggest cheats of all - the tax evaders. Anyone know what that's all about .... it seems very strange indeed.

[Bo-Gilly]

Oh yeah bothered, just not much bothered. Those 45 names over 4 years represents a few unlucky ones who got caught, a drop in the ocean no doubt, when you consider that tax cheats cost this country £15 billion every year. That's 15 times more than benefit fraud by the way.

If the government was really bothered by tax cheats then I'm sure we would regularly hear about it on the news and in newspapers. And at least as often as we do concerning benefit fraud, if not 15 times more often.

Seems strange doesn't it ?

[Paul H]

The only thing that seems to strange to me is your point of view. Have a think about it.

Youve posted a news article about Mr Johnson and his £26,000,000 tax fraud which is probably over 1000 times more than the average benefit fraud. This is why you dont hear about it 15 times as often

Thats my last post on this matter.

[Dombo]

If you want to reduce tax evasion, reduce the tax rate so people would have less incentive to evade.

Take for example somebody earning £250k a year - the last 100k of that is taxed at 50% rather than 40%, so 10k a year net loss vs previous years. Add in NI contributions to pay for index-linked gold-plated public sector pensions and you're looking at around £12k less a year compared to when the top rate was 40%. Sack the nanny, childminder, gardener, whatever or keep them on and pay them in cash? Unintended consequences of the politics of envy.

As for the £15billion lost to evasion, you could save half that by ending foreign aid - £7bn or so promised by Gormless Gordon and shovelled off to God know's where by the current shower.

[Grahame]

[quote="Dombo"] Add in NI contributions to pay for index-linked gold-plated public sector pensions

[Tony]

I think what disappointed me most about the story is that the yacht was was only 42' long - I mean that's hardly trying is it? ....not compared to Fred the Shred's payoff or the general trend amongst banks and senior execs to socialise costs on to everyone else whilst taking all the upside for themselves. Buy a bigger one next time Graham!

[quote].....Mr Johnson and his £26,000,000 tax fraud which is probably over 1000 times more than the average benefit fraud. This is why you dont hear about it 15 times as often

[Phil H]

Bo - Dombo is just trolling you. Giveaways include the use of Daily Mail stock phrases such as "Gold-plated pensions". Rule one: do not feed the trolls.

Anyway, I have a new unit I suggest using for measuring how much you rip-off the taxpayer. It's the Goodwin. By my measurement, Mr. Axford weighs in at 2.17 microGoodwins.

[Marcus]

These points being batted back and forth may well be relevant to determining which is worst, tax evaders or benefit cheats. Criminals are criminals irrespective of the crime, but if you really want to know which is worst there is only one way to find out. FIGHT.......

My only concern in all this is will I still be able to get my Cannondale Super Six with Di2 on motobility and a blue badge to park it anywhere?