“The Taxpayers’ Alliance…has admitted one of its directors does not pay British tax.”

As their loyal tabloids might have said, you couldn’t make it up. The trouble is, the TPA’s credibility was already at zero, and they still get quoted faithfully, so what difference will this actually make?

Eh? He lives in France. Why would he pay UK tax?

Perhaps, as he lives in France he should concern himself with French taxes? I wonder how the French would feel if I started agitating about their tax system?

douglas, what connection do you have to France?

#2 – I think the point is that ideally, a “taxpayers alliance” would be an alliance of taxpayers. Sorry to have to spell it out.

So in other words a French taxpayer is funding a project to interfere in our tax system?

Great. And I thought right-wingers were against outside interference – especially when it came to taxes.

ukliberty,

None. So, what’s your point? There is something intensely annoying about ex-pats comments on anything whatsoever to do with this country, or hadn’t you noticed?

I hoped the point about the lack of connection to France was obvious. I wouldn’t blame the French for telling me to shut up if I commented on their taxes, because aside from business and vacations in France I have never contributed to their coffers.

But ex-pats (presumably) contributed for a number of years to our public purse.

I’m not sure they ‘lose the right’ or whatever to make such comments just because they’ve left the country – certainly they don’t lose the right to vote.

Fascinating stuff, certainly. Just as is the fact that The Guardian tells us all, at length, how we should all be paying much more tax, most especially inheritance tax, while being owned by the Scott Trust: specifically set up to avoid inheritance tax.

Or the example of the Tax Justice Network. A bunch of Brits, funded by Americans (Ford Foundation) who take it upon themselves to tell the entire world (sorry, over egging the pudding there. Just the 60 so called “secrecy jurisdictions”) what their privacy laws should be. Oh, and their tax rates.

There is of course a defence for such meddling in the affairs of others: that by doing so we believe that we’ll make the world a better place. But if that holds for those telling Cayman, Switzerland, Delaware and the rest what their tax systems should be it also holds for someone living in France talking about the UK system.

And, of course, if it doesn’t hold for someone living in France talking about the UK system then it doesn’t hold for those mewling about what other countries do with their tax systems either.

Consistency isn’t that extreme a thing to ask for is it?

So bizarre,

Tim Worstall, rather than seeing the camouflage for what it is, points to more camouflage!

I have no particular axe to grind on transparent comment on the UK Tax system, from either the Taxpayers Alliance or this Tax Justice Network. What I do object to is the entryism that the former uses, and if I have read Tim correctly, the latter uses too. If these people want to make the world a better place, openess about their own sources of funding, foreign support and just whose agenda it is exactly, ought to be a prerequisite.

Frankly, that is a general criticism of many ‘think tanks’, who are merely pushing someone else’s agenda. The automatic reaction to any piece out of any think tank ought to be, cui bono?

Under European Union tax law there is a law of ‘dual taxation.’ This means that any citizen of the EU who lives in another EU country, other than his own, can opt to be taxed either under the tax jurisdiction of his own country or the EU country where he lives. This is what it would appear Mr Heath as done, as he lives in France he has opted to be taxed under their tax jurisdiction, as he is entitled so to do.
This is a typical Tory bashing ‘non story’ by a Socialist newspaper and demeans its credibility. Do your research properly The Guardian, before you publish dross like this.

Consistency isn’t that extreme a thing to ask for is it?

Sorry, is that the pot calling the kettle black? I think it is.

Ashcroft I can understand but some random dude who writes whinging reports is a bit of a tenuous non story methinks. Apparently the Belize government are trying to boot Ashcroft out but I seem to recall he’s resigned from the Tories already as he’s pumped all his cash in before electoral funding gets tighter in election campaigns.

On a COT thing – if England do well in the world cup then the Tories should get quite a decent extension to their honeymoon period.

Shorter Worstall: “Look, over there!”