Gary Barlow and his OBE...

[Milk Tray Man]

Gary's singing again.....

Whatever I took,
Whatever I stole,
I didn't mean it,
I'll just pay it back for good,
I'll pay it back,
Just pay it back,
Just pay it back for good .....

[Sam Slater]

[quote]What on earth is moral about paying tax?[/quote]

So children can get an education?

So we don't live in an anarchistic society with no laws upheld?

So uncle Doug on minimum wage can get that tumour removed from his brain that's killing him and he's not yet 50?

So we can go rescue the kids from that burning house?

Is it more or less moral to take these things away?

[Essex Lad]

I did say in an earlier post that companies should pay their full tax liability ? you might get a few kids educated or saved from burning buildings if amazon, Starbucks, Vodafone, News UK etc paid their due whack...

[Milk Tray Man]

I think that most people with any sense understand that paying tax is a necessary evil. But at the same time they are resentful of how much of it is wasted (politicians and civil servants can be very cavalier with other people's money).

there's also a lot of resentment of how Joe Soap gets hounded and threatened to the end of the earth over comparative chump change, while at the same time the taxman is happy to cut sweetheart deals with big companies and fat-cats who, as a result, end up paying far less than they really should.

the entire tax system is also far too complex and unweildy and in dire need of simplification. Nothing ever gets done there though except talk about it.

[Essex Lad]

Milk Tray Man wrote:

> I think that most people with any sense understand that paying
> tax is a necessary evil. But at the same time they are
> resentful of how much of it is wasted (politicians and civil
> servants can be very cavalier with other people's money).
>
> there's also a lot of resentment of how Joe Soap gets hounded
> and threatened to the end of the earth over comparative chump
> change, while at the same time the taxman is happy to cut
> sweetheart deals with big companies and fat-cats who, as a
> result, end up paying far less than they really should.
>
> the entire tax system is also far too complex and unwieldy (thanks in no small part to a certain G. Brown) and
> in dire need of simplification. Nothing ever gets done there
> though except talk about it.
>
Hear hear.

[Sam Slater]

You asked 'what is moral about paying tax'. I gave a few examples.

[max_tranmere]

I find it odd how a dustman or shelf-stacker in a supermarket pays more tax than some celebrities who earn millions a year. It is very wrong and it confirms to me they don't care much about their country. If I earned that sort of money I would pay all my taxes. It is even weirder when they get Knighted by the Government, even though they've dodged their taxes.

[Essex Lad]

max_tranmere wrote:

> I find it odd how a dustman or shelf-stacker in a supermarket
> pays more tax than some celebrities who earn millions a year.

Comparatively not actually.

> It is very wrong and it confirms to me they don't care much
> about their country. If I earned that sort of money I would pay
> all my taxes.

I am sure that you would but it's easy to say that when it's (presumably) unlikely that you'll ever be in that position.

It is even weirder when they get Knighted by the
> Government, even though they've dodged their taxes.

Apparently what held up Norman Wisdom's K.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Had to restrain myself as my lefty loving boss admitted she would pay as little tax as poss if she was rich. Wise words for the daughter of a Labour councillor...If Barlow was, for example a heavy metal musician or not physically attractive to People's Friend readers he would be getting slagged left right and centre.