Paying Taxes

Another piece of news this week that has stirred up a hornet's nest is the revelation that Lord Ashcroft, the Tory peer and primary provider of Tory Party funds has been a non-dom [for tax purposes] for the last 10 years. This in spite of the fact that he told William Hague that he would become a full UK resident when Hague put his name forward for membership of the House of Lords. Now, it seems that he renegotiated that position with officials of the House of Lords but he did not tell William Hague. So, he became what is described as a long-term UK resident and, thus, did not need to pay any tax on his earnings outside the UK. His base is, allegedly, Belize and he does not pay any tax there either. It is claimed that the Tory leader David Cameron only found out about this in the last few weeks and William Hague found out a few months ago. Are a few weeks and a few months time spans that equal each other? Or did Hague find out and not tell Cameron. Either way, it is an extraordinary story. Yet again, one has doubts about the competence of Cameron and his team. In view of all the furore about Ashcroft - for years, not months - and who is far and away the biggest single donor to the party, if I had been David Cameron I would have made damn sure that I knew exactly the tax status of Lord Ashcroft. It is pathetic to suggest that this is only a matter for Ashcroft and HMR&C. It is also pathetic to suggest that the otter parties are just as bad. I think not. They, also, have benefactors who are non-doms but they have not deliberately hidden this as Ashcroft has done. It is not acceptable that we have a very rich men sheltering almost all of their money from UK taxation yet seeking as Ashcroft does, to establish and support a government and party that will legislate and set tax rates for the rest of us. It would be quite easy to cure all this nonsense about non-doms by doing as they do in the USA, and making every one who lives here liable to full UK taxation.

I never had much confidence in the Cameron and Osborne dynamic duo and as time goes by and they drift along from one cock-up to the next, I am having less and less. All the polls show the Tory lead over Labour narrowing and we haven't had any post Ashcroft figures yet. If Labour can hold a steady hand it seems likely that they will draw level with the Tories and if reflected in a General Election, this would keep them in power with a working majority. I am no great enthusiast for this Labour government but I do believe that most of the damage was done by Blair and he left the poisoned chalice to Brown. Brown may be a bully and bad tempered but he still looks like the best Prime Minister we are likely to get.

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