In the news

haven’t claimed a penny from the state.

This bit isn't strictly true, you, your family and any employees have made use of state provided infrastructure, education (even if not directly) and health care.

For clarification I haven’t earned anything in reality since 2019 and haven’t claimed a penny from the state.

chapeau for emptying your own bins and maintaining the road networks

To be fair he didn’t call the fire brigade when I set his house on fire

I knew I was setting myself up for a slap by posting that, but thought it should be said.

If my annual expenditure is £36K, which is about correct, then I’ve still been paying £7,200 in direct tax a year since I stopped earning a wage. I reckon that covers my bins and the street lights.

Bit rich when the HMRC offices themselves are owned by an offshore company

on the basis of VAT

PAYE shitmunchers pay VAT from their post-tax earnings and company directors can (sometimes) claim VAT back for "expenses" anyway so you're paying no more than anyone else.

I don't really blame you though. That's the way the system is designed to work. Tax the fuck out of average people on £25k who don't have the opportunity or resources to avoid it and let people who might one day vote Tory get away with paying next to nothing.

One thing that has surprised me in recent times is the the handful of people I have met who choose to pay more tax than they have to.

Not saying it's common, but some people who earn a lot do feel strongly about paying the same proportion of tax as everybody else.

Speaking personally, while I don't claim to deliberately pay more than I need to, as a company director I draw a salary that is equal to my annual expenditure + 25% so that I don't lean too heavily on the dividend tax loophole. Just felt wrong when an accountant tried to convince me to draw a salary equal to the lower tax band. Why should I pay less tax for the same money than an employee?

Aren't those council? You still have to pay council tax even if you pay no income tax. In my case that's another 6% of my post-tax income

For clarification I haven’t earned anything in reality since 2019 and haven’t claimed a penny from the state

So you're the unvaxed person not taking tests

I think we have established that my bins are also emptied on a biweekly basis.

Looks like the rugby community may be forced to take a long hard look at what constitutes acceptable behaviour

But as highlighted that's paid for out of council tax not general taxation. We all have and do benefit from general taxation spend without being benefit recipients. Most businesses would collapse without resources provided for "free" by the state

I think it's a bit unfair to lump locum workers, agency nurses and construction contractors, most of whom thought they were doing the right thing*, even if naively, and were even pushed into the arrangements by their government employers

Yes, you have to be pretty naïve to not smell a rat when you are told you're being paid by being loaned money that you never need to repay, and so no tax is due. Although the employers were agencies, not government.

To add to the shitshow government woes, the VIP lanes for sourcing crap PPE from their mates/neighbours found to be illegal. Not that any of our money will be recouped.

As an employee you tend to get sick pay / holiday pay, so a little em "tax optimisation" from builders/other one person companies I can sorta of emphatise with. Protect yourself and all that.

It gets rather annoying though if company directors employing people don't put this optimisation back into the company / employees / start hoarding it more than what they need for safety.

And it also begs the question why it is allowed for safety when many employees are on 0 hour contracts / don't get anything more than the crappy UK sick pay / UC.

A lot of house owners/not social renters with jobs found out that all their fair tax payments they made for years didn't result in anything bar £71 a week now f-off.

Could have told you that...oh... idk in 2003 that UK benefits suck (edit: unemployment ones, by then working tax credits was still there and OK). But anti corruption/better benefits/public services for our tax cash is a non partisan issue if you just ask people.

Until the old "but that party..." comes in, sigh...

Awful sounding case.

Fairly sure that's been high up the agenda in community rugby since even before the Paddy Jackson case a few years ago. Clearly there is a historic and current drink/drugs, misogyny and general antisocial behaviour problem in the sport (as there is in a lot of male-dominated sports). But it is improving. What doesn't help is when RFU sacks all of its community coaches, the very people you need, as it did a couple of years ago.

While a senior player (age, not ability) at a very amateur club back up in the midlands, I and several other senior players made it very clear to some of the younger guys what was and wasn't acceptable and enforced it where we could - and it made for a better club. But at the end of the day, you can't control individuals when they aren't representing you. In my now much more limited experience of grassroots club rugby (I ride mini c00ps to minis - at her request, not mine), they are going in the right direction. But not quickly enough, judging by Clapham Junction on a Twickenham match day... That was part of what pushed me over to rugby league too.

'Sport' in general needs to face up to its ingrained social problems - see Yorkshire CCC also. But there is far too much brushing of it under what is a pretty big carpet.

From the available info, it does point to a particular player who has some high-profile previous behaviour problems... EDIT - it's not them, but the fella who it is has also had a slightly troubled reputation

Although the employers were agencies, not government.

I'd argue that the govt were the ultimate employer (using their own ir35 argument..). There's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that a lot of people were pushed into these arrangements, with that push starting from the end client.

Don't get me wrong - there's certainly a level of naivety involved, but it's going to be tough for someone that has otherwise never had to concern themselves with how or what tax is paid, to suddenly make choices about their tax affairs, given they are being presented with a great option that has been approved, no less, by tax lawyers and accountants.

Boris is on PMQs apologising for the garden party.

"It was legal but I didn't realise it was wrong" basically

Just about to plug in.. It really is a reflection of one's self when the must view highlight this week is PMQs!

Believed it was a "work event"

Bollocks. Pure unadulterated bollocks and large helping of bullshit on top.

As expected.

I know big daddy Cum Cum said Boris will say anything to get him through the day but "I believed implicitly it was a work event" is incredible.

yeah but they're owned by a Tory donor so it's allowed

Fair points.

And full disclosure: When my agency colleagues took up loan schemes, I'd previously had the experience as a permie of an annual bonus being paid that way, and the very large employer then having to pay everyone's tax on it (probably many £ 10 millions) when HMRC found out.

He's getting slaughtered. Seems like he might be done for?

Really doubt it. I think you give the British electorate too much credit. Three weeks from now they will have forgotten.