My New Hero- Gary Barlow

CMAC said:
think you'll find it was 'professional advisers' and not just a scheme they thought up themselves.

The Financial services industry is riddelled with schemes and avoidance 'methods' that might not stand up to proper scrutiny by the overworked and understaffed inland revenue.........if they ever get the time to investigate.
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So Barlow had no idea he was gaining an advantage..................
I've noticed his songs on the radio even more than usual this week too. It's worked wonders this show of his......
 
Papas1982 said:
So Barlow had no idea he was gaining an advantage..................
I've noticed his songs on the radio even more than usual this week too. It's worked wonders this show of his......
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who said that? or even intimated it?

of COURSE he would be doing it for an advantage, that's what financial advisers do and how they earn their money, pointless if they didn't. Not sure you understand the concept with your answer:confused:
 
They were saying on the radio he and the others had no idea it was a Tax avoidance scam - hence no criminal charges and only need to pay the tax back ?
 
CMAC said:
who said that? or even intimated it?

of COURSE he would be doing it for an advantage, that's what financial advisers do and how they earn their money, pointless if they didn't. Not sure you understand the concept with your answer:confused:
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i may may have misinterpreted your previous statement. It appeared to be you were absolving Barlow of any blame. I was simply pointing out that ignorance doesn't mean innocence.
 
and any of us that have been fortunate enough to utilise a FA usually take their advice as the experts, thats why you pay them! if they say its legit and its a way to save tax we would all do it, and I reckon most of us don't pay all the tax you are supposed to pay, of that I am 99.999% certain
 
Liverpoolphil said:
They were saying on the radio he and the others had no idea it was a Tax avoidance scam - hence no criminal charges and only need to pay the tax back ?
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Get real, he had no idea, really?? The Judge stated 'Icebreaker is, and was known and understood by all concerned to be, a tax avoidance scheme,” . “The aim was to secure [tax] relief for members, and to inflate the scale of the relief by unnecessary borrowing"

He and 2 of his band mates invested 66 million in this, that is serious money in anyone's book, you telling me he would be putting huge sums of his own money in a scheme in which he had no idea what it really was? Did anyone really think he was investing massive amounts of money in music industry investment schemes and had no idea they were actually tax shelters for the super rich?

I do find it a bit strange that on the back of some puff piece documentary that was no doubt approved by his management, so many male golfers seem to have a man crush on him. His major achievement to me seems to be the ability to write dreary middle of the road pop songs that are mostly liked by menopausal women. Fair play to him for that, know your market and all that, and I am sure he does a 'lot of work for charadee mate, not half pop pickers'. As far as I'm bothered he can keep his OBE for services to radio 2 or whatever he got it for, but he's also a tax dodger on a massive scale and I'd hope for more from any hero.

On the other hand, Tony Mortimer from East 17, now that's a modern British hero...;)
 
CMAC said:
and any of us that have been fortunate enough to utilise a FA usually take their advice as the experts, thats why you pay them! if they say its legit and its a way to save tax we would all do it, and I reckon most of us don't pay all the tax you are supposed to pay, of that I am 99.999% certain
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It's the duty of every citizen to pay tax, where required.

It's also the right of everyone to minimise the amount of tax they have to pay!

Until Cabinet Ministers start losing their jobs over the waste of huge amounts of the tax they 'collect', then there should be no argument about those that successfully minimise the amount they have to waste!
 
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Just a thought, if they thought it was legit why did the rest of the band not take advantage? Sure, they possibly had different FAs, but I would have assumed the manager would have them all signed up to it if they thought it was 100% legit.
 
c1973 said:
Just a thought, if they thought it was legit why did the rest of the band not take advantage? Sure, they possibly had different FAs, but I would have assumed the manager would have them all signed up to it if they thought it was 100% legit.
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Two of them did.
 
gmc40 said:
Two of them did.
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Hmmmm.
My old gaffer (when he caught some fellas on the fiddle) said 'when it comes to money, nobody is daft, they knew what they were doing'. I believed that then and I think I still do tbf.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like retrospective punishment. If it wasn't illegal at the time then they shouldn't pay it back imo, but I'm no expert and have never tried tax avoidance.....so what do I know. :)
 
There is a difference between investments such as pensions, ISA's which have tax savings, which the average Joe uses, and the type of schemes that Gary Barlow and a few super rich get involved in. Very few advisers, me included, have ever get involved in such schemes. Unfortunately these schemes are bordering on tax evasion, and not avoidance, and there is a big deal of difference.
 
Its interesting how cameron ripped into Jimmy Carr for using a legal tax avoidance scheme, where with national treasure Gary barlow it's suddenly none of his business..
 
guest100718 said:
As long as its legal
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There's a difference between 'legal' - which I'm certain that scheme was - and 'legitimate' - which a Judge has ruled that their specific use of it was not. It's the difference between tax evasion (illegal) and tax avoidance (legal).

HMRC have become far more aggressive in recent years, even demanding Accountants cough up the ways by which they reduce the Tax of their clients. They then take a stance on whether it is valid or not, with the client having to prove them wrong! The term 'legalised bandits' is fairly appropriate!
 
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