812 days ago
I start by responding to some of your comments on yesterday’s Naked Wines (WINE) podcast HERE. Then onto Liz Truss and why her VAT plan shows she is either dim or bonkers.In stating that inflation can be tackled with handouts rather than, as Maggie knew, with pain all round and, in this case, peace in Ukraine not an endless war, Ms Truss is lying to us all. Then onto the strange death of Cineworld (CINE).
1133 days ago
I ponder yesterday’s news which is terrible for Britain and which I find terribly disappointing at a personal level regarding the fraudster Rob Terry. I have a suggestion for the woke dullards at the FCA. I comment on the arrests of Umuthi fraudsters in Zim South and who in the UK now has massive questions to answer. I consider the Domino’s (DOM) trading statement and the issue Rishi Sunak faces on VAT. This was a short working day for Jaya reasons, I’ll be back with a longer podcast on what should be a full day on Friday.
2677 days ago
Abi Wilkinson is a freelance journalist based in London writing about politics, inequality, gender, popular culture, and anything else that takes her fancy. She normally writes in the Guardian which likes articles about gender ( fluid, natch) and politics as long as they involve money tree worshipping and or/smashing the even half rich. Abi's latest piece really is peak stupidity in thus summer of left wing madness. Abi reckons that what we need is a 100% inheritance tax.
4502 days ago
I see there is a bit of a stir back in blighty about folks paying tradesmen in cash. No questions answered. Nudge, nudge wink, wink. We have all done it. I admit to it. The bill is £100 + VAT. I get my cheque book out and the chap says “tell you what, let’s call it £100 in cash.” Since I cannot personally reclaim VAT I am £20 better off. The chap can of course reclaim VAT but if he is generating more VAT-able revenues than he has VAT-able costs all he is doing is acting as an unpaid tax collector for the Government.
Of course there is the suspicion that he may not declare all of that £100 for tax purposes and so we who play the game are perhaps abetting him in that matter.
The controversy came about after David Gauke MP, a junior Treasury minister, said that paying in this way was “morally” wrong. This echoes Call Me Dave saying that Jimmy Carr’s 100% legal tax reduction schemes were “morally wrong.” As I noted at the time Cameron was a fool for trying to bring morality into politics. I do not like his moral code when it comes to telling barefaced lies (we are tackling the deficit, bringing peace to Afghanistan, etc, etc) but it is not for me, him or anyone to impose my moral values on anyone else via legislation. That is a very slippery slope.
