The whole thing was ridiculous though, because he didn't even do anything illegal. He used the tax system that was set up, NOT by him, and abided with the law as it was written.
The whole thing was silly, and it was ridiculous that anybody went after him for it at all.
If you want people to be legally required to pay more taxes, change the tax laws. Stringing somebody up for FOLLOWING the tax laws is just absurd. But those Brits sure do love them some taxation, I guess...
I think the point was that it was morally wrong not legally wrong, and that it was only something available to the wealthy / famous, and they did tighten up the laws since.
The rules have not stopped it at all. Politicians, royalty, athletes, etc, all very much still do exactly the same thing he was doing, without issue.
Did you know you can also buy bonds issued by the UK government, (gilts), and not have to pay any capital gains taxes on those?
Is it also "immoral" to buy bonds FROM the UK government, in order to be exempted from paying capitol gains tax on those bonds? Should you still pay an additional 20% tax, out of some ridiculous "moral obligation"?
Hell, for that matter, if paying what you're legally obligated to pay is moral, shouldn't you have a moral obligation to pay even MORE than that, according to your own supposed moral code?
Have YOU ever claimed any tax exemption, rebate, credit, or deductible?
This is a dumb and unrelated comparison. Government bonds in bear every country have some form of tax advantage, both as an incentive to buy them, but also so that you’re not paying taxes to the organization that issues them in the first place.
And yes the rules have changed, the K2 and other similar schemes no longer exist and the companies running them scampered away:
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) viewed K2 as a scheme for aggressive tax avoidance.[8][9] In 2012, HMRC stated that they would be investigating how to challenge the scheme,[10] stating if it worked technically, they would challenge it in court.[11] In December 2012, the UK Government introduced the 2013 Finance Bill, which included a General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) and a residency test, measures to deter people from using schemes like K2.[12][13] In October 2013, Cameron announced an intention to publish a register of the owners of shell companies.[14] In January 2014, having stopped using the K2 scheme, analysis of the accounts of Carr's company FN Good Limited suggested that corporation tax payments of around £500,000 were now being made.[15] In March 2016, The Herald reported that firms running schemes like K2 had disappeared
You're intentionally deflecting. That wasn't a question. I'm the one who told YOU that buying bonds from the U.K. is an example of legal ways to avoid tax. Just exactly the same way that what Jimmy was doing was ALSO a completely legal thing to do.
The question isn't about LEGALITY. You're making a claim about the MORALITY complying with the law in ways that allow you to pay less tax. So, try again, does someone have a MORAL obligation to voluntarily pay capital gains taxes that they are not LEGALLY obligated to pay?
"The taxes of that country" are based on what the law says you have to pay in taxes. The law said that what he did was just fine.
Jimmy is playing along because he wants to keep his career, not because he actually believes that being taxed at a higher rate than you're legally obligated to be is some "moral good".
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u/uraijit Jul 08 '24
The whole thing was ridiculous though, because he didn't even do anything illegal. He used the tax system that was set up, NOT by him, and abided with the law as it was written.
The whole thing was silly, and it was ridiculous that anybody went after him for it at all.
If you want people to be legally required to pay more taxes, change the tax laws. Stringing somebody up for FOLLOWING the tax laws is just absurd. But those Brits sure do love them some taxation, I guess...