stevo///m3 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:05 pm I’m not that bothered that he has allegedly swindled the VAT man; all the others have too and a fair few besides those that have been named. I think the best outcome - for Lewis and the public at large - is that he pays what he owes (15% or 35% of the £3.3m, whatever it turns out to be...) and donates a big number to a charity. Some will see that as trying to cover up something he did “wrong”. Maybe better still he sues his advisers and donates the proceeds to charity. Anyway, I’m musing hope it all works out fine for all concerned!
Stevo
maxman wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:43 pmAccording to the report on the BBC he didn't pay the vat that was due on a plane he bought in the IOM,the pathetic
bit is the amount owed would be small change to him.
What would be the outcome if everybody in the uk decided from tomorrow they would stop paying vat and income tax ,nobody likes paying tax but in a civilised society it's one of life's chores.
It's not a % of the £3.3m that he owes tax on. The £3.3m IS the tax he owes on the plane. So I believe his annual from Merc is approximately $40m (inc bonuses) before tax (assuming he's paying tax on that somewhere ) so I would say £3.3m is quite a chunk, rather than a pathetic amount - hence the swerve attempt.....which yes we would all try to avoid tax where possible and legally acceptable.
I guess peoples' problem is that the UK is his 'home' that gave him his start in life, our taxes paid a lot to get him to where he is and he's happy to drape our flag over his back....therefore he should pay what he is legally required to for the money he earns, or the products he purchases here - like jets.
People (rightly or wrongly) also pointed out that it's the British tax payers who paid for his brother who has CP, and when the NHS is already struggling with services, people who aren't contributing their fair share don't help. Corporation tax methods are obviously all making things 100x worse than £3.3m from 1 guy, but it all adds up.
If he has to buy a jet with his company, lease it to another company of his, register some entity in the Bahamas where a private jet company then leases it off him, and finally he pays them to use it (his own jet).....that many manoeuvres suggest that several people know that this is taking the piss.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Lewis fan - I was there for his first race in Oz 2007. I like the racer.... but struggle to like the man, especially when things aren't going his way!