which until loosey-goosey UK law is not illegal, it's not far
for one to assume that David Cameron is criticising his
dead father and the offshore millions which that father hid
in the Caymans.
IshitUnot: 2 texts
Telegraph
Jimmy Carr: 'I've made a terrible error of judgement'
By Hannah Furness | Telegraph
Jimmy Carr has pulled out of a tax avoidance scheme
after it was described as "morally wrong", saying he had made a
"terrible error of judgement".
The comedian had been exposed as the biggest beneficiary of the K2 scheme,
which protects money from tax
in Jersey.
In a statement released via his Twitter page, Mr Carr
apologised and promised to conduct his financial affairs "much more
responsibly".
He told his 2.3 million followers: "I appreciate
as a comedian, people will expect me to ‘make light’ of this situation, but I’m
not going to in this statement as this is obviously a serious matter.
"I met with a financial advisor and he said to me
'Do you want to pay less tax? It’s totally legal.' I said 'Yes.'
"I now realise I’ve made a terrible error of
judgement.
"Although I’ve been advised the K2 Tax scheme is
entirely legal, and has been fully disclosed to HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs), I’m no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial
affairs much more responsibly. Apologies to everyone."
[Related link: Earn interest tax free - the top-paying
cash ISAs]
His mea culpa came after David Cameron said it was
"morally wrong" to avoid tax using such a scheme.
In response, Labour leader Ed Miliband said
politicians should not lecture people about morality.
Mr Miliband said: "I'm not in favour of tax
avoidance obviously, but I don't think it is for politicians to lecture people
about morality.
"I think what the politicians need to do is - if
the wrong thing is happening - change the law to prevent that tax avoidance
happening and I think that is the right course the Government should take.
... The tax
scheme is understood to protect £168m a year from the taxman in Jersey,
with Jimmy Carr as its largest beneficiary.
Speaking at the G20 summit the Prime Minister told ITV
News : "I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the
Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is
completely wrong.
... Today
it was claimed that members of pop group Take That had also invested at least £26m in a
scheme believed by HMRC to be a method of avoiding tax.
... Chancellor
George Osborne has claimed he was left
“shocked” after finding the extent to which multi-millionaires were
exploiting tax loopholes and vowed to take “action”. [nice bit of acting, George- ]
2
guardian.co.uk
Cameron
family fortune made in tax havens
Revealed:
David Cameron's father built up legal offshore funds in Panama and Geneva
Ed
Howker and Shiv Malik
Friday 20 April 2012 22.01 BST Article history
David
Cameron's father ran a network of
offshore investment funds to help build the family fortune that paid for the
prime minister's inheritance, the Guardian can reveal.
Though
entirely legal, the funds were set up in tax havens such as Panama City
and Geneva, and explicitly boasted of their
ability to remain outside UK
tax jurisdiction.
At the
time of his death in late 2010, Ian Cameron left a fortune of £2.74m in his
will, from which David Cameron received the sum of £300,000.
Cameron
and other cabinet members have recently suggested that they would be willing to
disclose their personal tax filings amid growing scrutiny following the budget,
but this would only shed light on annual sources of income rather than accumulated wealth or inheritance.
