Time for a change

One of the most annoying things I ever read was a Telegraph article about a lovely house in Jersey that was up for sale, for millions. When asked why they were moving the sellers said quite openly that they had moved to the Channel Islands because they thought they had “paid enough tax” in the UK, having made a fortune building up a company, but now they were getting old they wanted to move back to ensure access to the NHS. Shameless.

It was only the worst of numerous articles that we see all the time about people who have made themselves very wealthy and think they owe the society that let them do that nothing, zilch, zero. They happily swan off to tax havens, take advantage of the UK’s over generous allowances which let them visit often and run their businesses and then they lecture us on how patriotic they are and how the British state did nothing for them.

This attitude goes back to Margaret Thatcher and her libertarian supporters, with all their think tanks and media outlets trying to influence the zeitgeist. This has to change if we are to have a fairer society. Will Hutton has been leading the way on this, But may I suggest we try this?

Next time someone tries this line ask these questions?

Did you pay for your workers ante-natal care, birth, their NHS care, their child allowances and their education?

Do you have a private road and rail network connecting your factories and offices with your staff’s homes and your customers?

Do you employ your own judges, court system, prisons, and police to protect your wealth, property, intellectual property rights, patents and staff?

Do you employ your own Royal Marines, RN and Army, Coast Guard and nuclear deterrent?

We assume you have never taken advantage of a tax break, government subsidy, trade promotion deal, training allowance or embassy? Or if you have, you’ll be paying the money back.

Now you have moved to Monaco, can we assume you will be commentating on the defence and foreign policy of Prince Albert, because you have deliberately stopped funding the UK’s defence?

No? I bet the answer is no to every question.

Pretty much all states including the UK try their very best to provide the right environment, policies and spending to promote enterprise, private business, profits and wealth. The reward for the individuals who take advantage of those policies are rewarded with wealth, huge amounts of low taxed wealth.

The wealthy who tell you the state did nothing but get in their way and that they achieved everything because of their hard work are lying. The state created the society that allowed them to prosper, at great expense and if hard work made you rich, my local road sweeper would be a billionaire.

Some wealthy people are happy to pay their fair share but far too many start to believe what is in their own selfish interest. Oh, and then they come back to the UK when they are old, to take advantage of the NHS.

We have to stop worshipping these people, they are the real citizens of nowhere.

I suggest for a start that anyone who moves abroad to a tax haven loses their titles. Everything from membership of the House of Lords to their BEM.

They don’t care about us, even though we enabled them to make their fortunes here; why should we reward them?

Jonty’s Jottings

Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.

By Jonty Bloom Media

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