In the news

as well as most of the cast of Mrs Brown's Boys according to the latest reports.

ps. please look at this story and the one that shows our 'head of state' is up to her neck in all manner shitty business dealings.

I think what's becoming increasingly well-evidenced (not that it hasn't been suspected or known) is that many members of governments are implicated in this, so it's not so easy as to say 'government should deal with it'. Of course it should, but with a proper separation between government business and corruption.

This refers to the fact that governments cant just change the law that easily. Jolyon Maugham is sometime a bit annoying but it covers your point regarding why the government dont change the law

https://waitingfortax.com/2015/10/16/a-short-monograph-in-favour-of-the-taxation-of-dead-cats/

Here's a fun Süddeutsche page with a little counter on it that claims to track how much money gets shunted into tax havens by companies, allegedly €600bn a year:

https://projekte.sueddeutsche.de/paradisepapers/politik/das-ist-das-leak-e229478/

(Scroll down to "Allein seit Sie diesen Text lesen, haben Unternehmen etwa X € über Steueroasen geschleust.")

not just the governments. top CEO's with huge lobbying power influence all that stuff. no wonder lots of them wanted brexit and donated to the leave cause. I imagine they want the UK to become a low regulation tax haven just like the islands where their money is stored.

I think if that happens then there will suddenly be a large influx of monies back into onshore funds. that'll be good PR that will be.

Become a tax haven? It already is, how many of the worlds offshore centres are ex-British colonies?

Well, that's sort of the Irish model: Have lower tax than the rest of the EU, undercut others by drawing in Facebook/Apple/Google that way, and fill your own pockets.

IF it would benefit the general tax pot, there may be a silver line. May. Be...

At gun shows,

It like their gun laws are more like guidelines.

Am hoping that Priti Patel is obliged resign. As bad as Andrea Loathsome.

She absolutely should be. But I can't see it happening.

Unless as a distraction from sleaze.

Given the size of here majority, I don't think May can afford to upset too many people can she? There'll be handslaps all round for the sleaze, but probably no one will lose the whip.

Boris Johnson fucking up as usual;

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/foreign-affairs/news/90394/boris-johnson-blunder-risks-five-more-years-prison-british

What a fucking national embarrassment, how on earth does he remain in frontline national politics?

come on guys, be fair. the ministerial code doesn't necessarily apply to members of the tory party. they're chosen by god. you wouldn't want to upset god, would you?

Do capitalise His (natch) name properly, you mucky heathen.

I know what you mean, but I think 'embarrassment' is way too polite a verdict and effectively ignores much of the problem ...

Jesus fucking Christ. Words fail.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655097/HMRC-measuring-tax-gaps-2017.pdf

Interesting tax gap analysis from HMRC. Tax loss attributed to failure to take reasonable care (cock-up rather than conspiracy I think) has the highest figure in the categories they use - £6.1bn - avoidance is lowest at £1.7bn.

Also interesting, albeit 3 years old but the landscape hasn't changed dramatically.

This total includes an estimated £2.7n lost to tax avoidance, down from £2.8bn the previous year (that figure itself revised down from the estimate of £3.1bn published a year ago). However, £5.1bn was lost to criminal attacks, £4.4bn to evasion and £6.2bn to the ‘hidden economy’, a total of £15.7bn from illegal activities

I wonder how massaged these HMRC estimates actually are.

Also where in this makeup of fraud, evasion and "hidden economy" the majority of off shore funds sit.

so far, patel has ignored ministerial codes, met a foreign leader without notifying the relevant authorities, proceeded to make false and misleading statements about said meeting and gone on to offer foreign aid to the israeli army, presumably off the back of a meeting she never had. Somehow, despite all of this, she has still kept her job.

born to rule.

She had 12 separate undisclosed meetings while on her 'holiday'.

her response thus far appears to be "oops, soz lol, y u mad doe?" - a position fully endorsed by the PM and the rest of the front bench.

Beggars belief.

They can't make a fuss though as they have enough other scandals going on that they can't afford to escalate anything. Dire situation

Interesting graph on Twitter tags used following the Sutherland Springs shootings

I can only deduce that she has some fucking amazing dirt on May.

There’s no other logical explanation.