I’M finding it a bit hard to get my head round all this Paradise Papers offshore tax avoidance business. It seems just about everyone with a bob or two is at it.
I read somewhere there might be £10 trillion (or was it dollars – who cares, it’s much the same) stashed away in these offshore accounts.
I assume this money is in some kind of bank accounts. Does that mean it is lent out to borrowers in some way? Is there perhaps some vast James Bond-style vault where the cash, or maybe gold, is stacked up? Does the money simply exist in some kind of virtual electronic format, to be transferred at the click of a mouse?
The Scottish Government is probably about to raise taxes for some of us. The question is by how much and for how many taxpayers. It does not have the power to squeeze the Amazons or the Vodafones or the offshore tax avoiders, so is forced to come after the ordinary mortals who cannot hide their income from the taxman. Doesn’t seem very fair.
Brian Lawson
Paisley
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