Ripped-off Britons: “A fat policeman chasing a speeding Ferrari” – Her...

 ...It turned out that less than 6% of the £2bn Diamond was trumpeting was actually corporation tax.  Barclays provided this information in a letter dated 15^th February 2011:

“In 2009, Barclays paid over £2bn to HM Revenue & Customs. Of this, £113m constituted Corporation Tax”

The rest was largely made up of payroll taxes paid by its staff, such as PAYE taxes and national insurance. Barclays claiming credit for taxes paid by its staff is as fatuous as the Department of Health claiming brownie points for billions of taxes paid by doctors and nurses.  Arguing that the Financial Sector can justifiably take credit for the taxes of their employees makes the dubious assumption that if these people didn't work for the banks they would be unemployed and not paying taxes from alternative employment.

Barclays directors presumably plan, on that final day of judgement, to get through the Pearly Gates into Heaven on the basis of good deeds done by their staff.

But let’s not pick only on Barclays.  In July 2007, the National Audit Office’s report, “HM Revenue and Customs, Management of large business Corporation Tax” stated that of the UK’s 700 largest companies, almost a third paid no corporation tax at all. Avoidance is not only endemic, but it is legal. In such companies, anyone who doesn’t do it as far as is legally permissible is not fit to run a company...

 

More -  Ripped-off Britons: “A fat policeman chasing a speeding Ferrari” – Her...: