Another Hypocrite

[Acrylic-bob]

I had, in the past, always been in two minds about whether Ken Livingstone was a good idea or not. I sort of suspected that underneath all the socialist blather there might an effective and fundamentally decent chap struggling to reach the surface.

This, in this morning's Telegraph shows just how wrong you can be....

Ken Livingstone uses loophole to save £50,000 in tax - Telegraph


.

[jaysay]

Ain't it surprising how these socialist suddenly forget their principals as soon as they get their snouts in the trough, whats yours is mine and what's mines me own

[Margaret Pilkington]

That just about sums it up John.....Socialists when they have nowt....not socialists when the money rolls in...they conveniently 'forget' their socialist values then don't they?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

That just about sums it up John.....Socialists when they have nowt....not socialists when the money rolls in...they conveniently 'forget' their socialist values then don't they?

Ya ask big hearted Aurthur, the biggest of the lot of um and not forgetting Mrs Blair who and I quote "still considers herself a socialist" ya and Crippin was innocent

[claytonx]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Ya ask big hearted Aurthur, the biggest of the lot of um and not forgetting Mrs Blair who and I quote "still considers herself a socialist" ya and Crippin was innocent

It seems today's politicians don't think it's wrong to bend the rules for there benefit. Maybe it happened in the past but with not having the same communications we never found out about it. Or was society more honest?

[cashman]

Originally Posted by claytonx

It seems today's politicians don't think it's wrong to bend the rules for there benefit. Maybe it happened in the past but with not having the same communications we never found out about it. Or was society more honest?

Think yeh probably nailed it, Info these days is more accessible simple as.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Once they taste the gravy they are hooked.........and beggar the principles of socialism.

[davemac]

Whilst not supporting his actions, he has not done anything wrong, only used the rules and regulations to his own ends. Can anyone on here with hand on heart say that applying the rules to ones own benifit is not something we all do when possible

[Acrylic-bob]

Originally Posted by davemac

Whilst not supporting his actions, he has not done anything wrong, only used the rules and regulations to his own ends. Can anyone on here with hand on heart say that applying the rules to ones own benifit is not something we all do when possible

The article and my own conclusions are not saying that Livingstone has done anything outside the law in making use of a system that thousands of others use to avoid paying tax. The point is that Livingstone described people who evade tax as b*stard's, when he was doing exactly the same thing. Ergo, the man is either a complete idiot, which I don't believe for one minute, or he is what he describes others as being. Either way he is an hypocrite.

[Margaret Pilkington]

These politicians know about these loopholes......and they are something which you and I cannot use...we pay our taxes as we earn our money. The Rich people(and I include politicians in this) can avail themselves of these loopholes.
It makes me think that loopholes aren't closed because these people want to be able to exploit them....put a bit more jam on their bread(with a dollop of cream for good measure).
If all these people paid the tax that they were due to pay, then the country would be in much better financial shape. I don't see any politicians pulling their belts a bit. tighter.

No, he hasn't done anything illegal, but as for the morals and ethics.....well, I leave it to you to judge.

[davemac]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

The article and my own conclusions are not saying that Livingstone has done anything outside the law in making use of a system that thousands of others use to avoid paying tax. The point is that Livingstone described people who evade tax as b*stard's, when he was doing exactly the same thing. Ergo, the man is either a complete idiot, which I don't believe for one minute, or he is what he describes others as being. Either way he is an hypocrite.

I would describe a tax evader as someone who is dishonest, and is not declaring his true income. What you have described is using the system to pay less tax on his declared income. This is something businessmen have been paying accountants to do since accountants existed

[davemac]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

These politicians know about these loopholes......and they are something which you and I cannot use...we pay our taxes as we earn our money. The Rich people(and I include politicians in this) can avail themselves of these loopholes.
It makes me think that loopholes aren't closed because these people want to be able to exploit them....put a bit more jam on their bread(with a dollop of cream for good measure).
If all these people paid the tax that they were due to pay, then the country would be in much better financial shape. I don't see any politicians pulling their belts a bit. tighter.

No, he hasn't done anything illegal, but as for the morals and ethics.....well, I leave it to you to judge.

I think morally he has lost the high ground, and this will be reflected in how many votes he gets when he stands for the mayors position. If he gets voted in then the populace accept this as the norm.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I hope the voters do remember his tax evasion...and his own judgement of others who do the same thing.
The thing is if he is dishonest(I consider evading tax to be dishonest) enough to pull this stunt, then why should he be trusted in public office?

[Acrylic-bob]

I think the thing that sticks in my craw the most is the fact that he seems to think that it is perfectly legitimate and understandable for him to avoid paying tax while at the same time criticising others for doing the same thing in more or less the same way.

To judge by his comments it is almost as if he finds the scrutiny personally offensive.
It seems to be, like Margaret says, once you rise beyond a certain level in the public service you seem to loose touch with the real world and how things are percieved there.

(PS. thanks to the moderators for correcting my typo.)

[Margaret Pilkington]

We only have to look at our own representative in Westmister to see how power changes good men into greedy ones....greedy for more power, which in turn brings more money...and it seems that however much they have, it is never quite enough.
All thought for the plebs is lost.