Manchester Arndale Centre Tax Protest: Top Shop And Vodafone Are The Wrong Targets
TO Manchester’s Arndale Centre where Saturday shoppers have been infiltrated by anti-tax avoidance campaigners. Ire is directed at Vodafone and Top Shop. The campaign has been organised by University of Manchester Students’ Union and UK uncut:
But the man of the moment is Tom Mason, 25, whose photos occupies the BBC and Manchester Evening News. Says he:
“I saw a crowd surrounding a Topshop store. It looked like they were hanging on to the shutters and some were trying to get in. Police arrived after about a minute and peace was restored relatively easily.”
Does this protest have a cat in hell’s chance of working? The UK Uncut site declares:
At the same time as making massive cuts to public services, this government is letting rich individuals and corporations avoid billions of pounds of tax. Join UK Uncut’s Big Society Revenue & Customs (BSRC) and become part of an army of citizen volunteers determined to make wealthy tax avoiders pay.
But shouldn’t the real target of the campaign be HMRC? And as for Top Shop, well, shares in Big Co. are the property of Sir Philip’s Green’s wife. She lives in Monaco. She is South African. She is a foreigner. So, why should she pay tax in the UK? Do all foreign employers of British people in the UK need to pay tax here?
Am I missing the point? Is the point that the rich should pay? If it is then the target should be the Government who set up legal loopholes and processes to make tax avoidance doable. Step forward, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown…
Posted: 11th, December 2010 | In: Money Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
