Things are seldom ...

.......................  what they seem,
Skim milk masquerades as cream. **

In today's Times ...

... the story:

Legislation will ban ‘Pravda-style propaganda’

Council-run newspapers that offer householders a rose-tinted view of their local authorities are to be outlawed, the Government has pledged. The papers, called “town hall Pravdas” by critics, are distributed free and are said to be undermining independent local newspapers by competing for advertising.

The Government’s local authority publicity code stipulates that councils must not publish newspapers in direct competition with the local press and that council publications should not appear more than four times a year.

Tower Hamlets Council in East London spends £1.2 million a year on East End Life, a weekly paper that competes directly with the independent, 150-year-old East London Advertiser. In March, one edition published six articles with pictures of the mayor, Lutfur Rahman, and more than 1,000 words of his comments and views.

The Newspaper Society, the trade body for local newspapers, said that at least 45 councils were publishing newspapers in defiance of the code. Of these, 21 are Labour-controlled, 15 Conservative and three Liberal Democrat.

The Government said that legislation proper newspaper. “You don’t have to have your own Pravda to get the message across,” he said.

The Newspaper Society welcomed the plan but suggested that it might be too late for some independent papers struggling to survive. “It is vital that this unfair competition be stopped as a matter of urgency.”

Tower Hamlets council said that it raised £1.18 million in advertising income from East End Life last year and aimed to run it at “net nil cost”. A spokesman said that the legislation “might be considered disproportionate government action and not in the spirit of localism”. “to protect local commercial newspapers from unfair competition from municipal publications” would be introduced in May next year and become law by April 2014.

Bob Neill, the Local Government Minister, told The Times that some council papers seemed to be deliberately trying to drive independent local papers out of business, and described East End Life as an “objectionable use of taxpayers’ money”.

Mr Neill acknowledged that councils had a duty to inform residents about local services, but said that some authorities were using that as “a smokescreen” to publish pro-council material in the guise of a proper newspaper. You don't have to have your own Pravda to get the message across he said.

The Newspaper Society welcomed the plan but suggested that it might he too late for some independent papers struggling to survive, it is vital that this unfair competition be stopped as a matter of urgency. 

Tower Hamlets council said that it raised £1.8 million in advertising income from East End Life last year and aimed to run it at "net nil cost". A spokesman said that the legislation "might be considered disproportionate government action and not in the spirit of localism".

 ... by Ben Webster Media Editor (6 July 2012).

To get a feel for Tower Hamlets newspaper try the link, it takes a few seconds to load the reader, there can be no doubt its a real weekly newspaper, when I compare it with our local weekly in Caerphilly I feel a certain envy.

But the questions raised ...

.. should local authorities be restricted to a statutory maximum frequency of publications.
.. should local authorities be restricted to public service information only publications.

...are irrelevant when we ask the question:

.. should local authorities engage in business of any kind ? 

.. even to the extent of offering subsidies to businesses. 

.. or is it an expression of the will of the electorate when an authority engages in such activities.  

.. and if it is the will of the people then should the Local Government Minister "butt out" in deference to democracy.

I tend to believe he should ..................... butt out that is.


** .... Buttercup to Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore.
 

David Cameron and S.B.S. ...

... (Spontaneous Bullshit Syndrome), it's the only explanation when he sends the kids back home ...

For the full story see the BBC report.

The scenario ....

Daughter (or son, delete as appropriate) leaves for college at 18 or so ...
... occasionally returns home for a break.

Graduates and moves to London, 1st job ...
... bedsit living, frequent trips home.

Meets "Kevin", trips home become less frequent ...
... meeting Kevin's parents this Christmas.

They moved into a flat together ...
... wow that was quick, I've a grandson.

Kevin lost his job ...
... I'm sure we'll find room for you both and the children.

After all, you are not 25 years old just yet ...

 The reality ...

When children leave home, they really do leave home.

 Can the electorate expect many more gems from our Prime Minister ...........

When you see an elephant ...

... on your doorstep, you know it's there .............

............. this elephant is bigger than Magna Carta, my guess is it will not go away until taxation is completely reformed so that all earnings made in the UK are taxed for the benefit of all those stakeholders in the UK ............. Mr. Cameron.

A small point, society is quite tired of a new aristocracy sitting on the shoulders of hard working people.


The 38-year tax backlog reported in today's (£) Times :

Alex Spence, Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester June 23 2012

 

Billions of pounds of potential revenue is tied up in more than 20,000 tax tribunal cases because the Government lacks the resources to deal with them promptly, tax experts have told The Times.

An internal estimate by Revenue and Customs claims that the backlog would take 38 years to clear at the present rate. Interviews with current and former Revenue staff, and lawyers and accountants who advise wealthy taxpayers, have portrayed a department that is struggling to cope with mounting pressure to stop big companies and the rich from avoiding their tax bills. The claims come after it was revealed this week that a host of wealthy people, including footballers, financiers and celebrities, continue to use avoidance schemes to reduce their income tax, despite HMRC increasingly challenging such arrangements.

One of Britain’s most successful businessmen is increasing the pressure today on the Government to produce a tax law that is fair for all. In an interview with The Times, the former chief executive of Tesco Sir Terry Leahy says that if there is unhappiness with the law “then the answer is to change the law”.

He also attacks the status of non-domiciles, who avoid paying full tax in this country by being registered abroad.

“There’s an insulated international group of people,” he says. “I’m slightly puzzled by the UK’s generous treatment of foreign residents. I’m for lower tax but I’d start with British citizens. Why should a non-British person have a better tax treatment from the British authorities than a British person?”

Among the concerns highlighted by the tax experts were:

• Some wealthy taxpayers whose arrangements have been challenged by HMRC are playing “hardball” in negotiations, in the expectation that the taxman will have to start making deals to clear unresolved cases;

• HMRC has a disproportionate number of senior staff close to retirement and not enough capable junior employees to replace them;

• Work by HMRC’s elite specialist investigations unit, which handles the toughest avoidance cases, has deteriorated in recent years, according to some sources;

• Staff cuts and defections have left HMRC with not enough fully-trained tax inspectors. Overall staff numbers are likely to fall to 55,000 by 2015, down from about 100,000 in 2005;

• Morale at HMRC is at rock-bottom, with staff frustrated about the lack of resources, pay freezes, cuts to their pensions and a lack of promotion opportunities. The Association of Revenue & Customs, which represents senior staff, claims that this is a “ticking timebomb” that could lead to a wave of defections to the private sector.

Industry and HMRC insiders said that the strain on resources was undermining progress in recent years on cutting evasion. Ian Hyde, a partner at the law firm Pinsent Masons, said: “HMRC is beset by poor morale, high staff turnover, budget cuts, and a lack of quality when it comes to training and knowledge.”

However, a senior source at HMRC blamed the tribunal system, rather than cuts, for undermining the fight against tax dodgers. “We can’t control the tribunal,” the official said. “It’s still finding its way. Two years ago they couldn’t find enough cases. Now apparently they’ve got a backlog.”

The Government committed an additional £917 million in funding during the 2010 spending review to tackle avoidance, evasion and criminal attacks on the tax system. But the Association of Revenue and Customs believes that this is not enough when the department overall is facing a 15 per cent budget cut.

The union has called for the Government to put aside another £260 million to create 250 new senior tax positions to tackle avoidance by large businesses; 400 to ensure compliance by employers; and 200 lawyers and legal support staff to help clear the backlog of legal disputes.

Gareth Hills, a spokesman for the union, said: “ARC members continue to deliver against a backdrop of HMRC resource cuts over many years and insufficient re-investment. We have been consistently arguing that without adequate investment HMRC will be forced to make compromises.”

Last month, the Public Accounts Committee said that said that the loss of 3,300 jobs in the compliance and enforcement functions of HMRC had resulted in £1.1 billion in potential tax revenue not being collected.

A spokesman for HMRC said: “We do believe that we are winning the war against avoidance. The £917 million made available to us as part of our 2010 spending settlement for tackling avoidance, evasion and fraud, is being used against the avoidance “industry’.” 

Observation .............

Britain’s tax system is straining under the weight of thousands of unresolved disputes between companies, rich individuals and Revenue & Customs. 

More than 20,000 cases are piled up in the tribunals and will take at least 38 years to clear at the current rate, resulting in billions of pounds in potential revenue sitting uncollected. The backlog is one of the starkest examples of how the Government’s crackdown on tax avoidance is being threatened by a lack of resources. 

Cynical  .............

One tax expert compares it to the chaotic passport queues at Heathrow. “Sooner or later they’re going to give in and just let people through,” he says.

Solution .............

Simplify the tax system so that no-one needs an accountant to pay taxes ............. and don't let anyone off paying their taxes, even if it does take 38 years.

Unexpected benefit ............. if David Cameron pushed such a system through parliament, he could take his place in history alongside the signatories of the Magna Carta.

In the 12th century ...

... it seems :

5% of the population fought wars.
5% of the population sought divine mercy, probably for those at war.

90% worked to support them.

In the 21st century little has changed :

10% of people are still supported by the 90%.

... and that's the dilemma for David Cameron and his government, how does he influence society to become fair and equitable without taking away from individuals the incentive to create the future. 

Right to buy, here in Wales ...

... the politicians will probably say no to the people.

Across the boundary that was Offa's Dyke David Cameron and Nick Clegg will reveal details on Monday of their vision to democratise housing further, Margaret Thatchers flagship programme of council house sales is to be upgraded to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The average £26,000 discount for a council home is set to jump to about £52,000, with tenants in London and the South East saving even larger sums under the new scheme, additionally first-time buyers will be eligible for 95 per cent mortgages, similar to those available at the height of the property boom five years ago, and underwritten by the government.  Will the new loan guarantee result in lenders providing mortgages with deposits of only 5 per cent, compared with the 20 per cent or more that has to be paid at the moment?


Mr Cameron will also confirm plans to release thousands of acres of public land owned by hospitals, schools and the Ministry of Defence to allow, in theory, up to 100,000 homes to be built.

Good news?  Probably, it has every chance of working, the right ingredients are ready to put into the mixing bowl, unfortunately for the peoples of Wales mainstream politics is firmly embedded in the politics of the last century so the scheme is unlikely to migrate westwards ..............

.............. yet we all pay the same taxes ?

Subsidies, the taxpayers curse ...

... and the litmus test for any business, and that includes farming in Wales.

Today's report that farmers in Wales receive £280 million in subsidies (this amount equates to 80% of their income) is a cautionary indicator to those who generate the base wealth of Britain, it means farming in Wales has become an economic junkie, unable to function without its next "financial fix".

If our farmers (all the British farmers) need so much money from the British taxpayers, and EU money arriving in Britain is British taxes, then the businesses are probably not viable and should be allowed to sink with all the other insolvent businesses (including banks).

Government subsidies hide reality.

Was it written in Welsh, because for certain, something was ...

... lost in translation.

The auditor general for Wales said there had been varying degrees of success with projects provided under the assembly's Merlin contract with Siemens, which started in 2004.

... the budget for the 10-year contract was a minimum of £220m, but the auditor general found the Welsh Government had spent £270m over the first seven years.

That's £50 million over budget with 3 years to go, the report card might read "should try harder".

Darren Millar AM Public Accounts Committee chair is reported to have said ...

I am concerned... that the Welsh Government is unable to demonstrate that the contract as a whole represents value for money.  The Welsh Government also had "not monitored effectively the costs and value for money of services delivered under the contract".

Darren Millar should write on the report card "are we trying".

A Welsh Government spokesman said ...

"We welcome the report by the auditor general for Wales which states that the Merlin contract is delivering core ICT services effectively, but added "It would be inappropriate to make any further comments at this stage as the report is likely to be considered at a future Public Accounts Committee evidence session and we will comment more fully after that meeting".

... this is translated as ...

We prefer not to comment, with a little time most people will forget how inept we have been.

... and the report card reads "obviously the government isn't raising the money itself, tax-raising powers might sharpen the political minds in Cardiff Bay and save the poor taxpaying public a bucket full of cash".

In India, Mr Anna Hazare was arrested before ...

... he could begin a hunger strike in a protest against anti-corruption legislation, in protest that the new legislation would not be applied to every citizen of India equally ...

... the prime minister and senior judiciary will not come under the remit of a new anti-corruption ombudsman.

... the government says the ombudsman should investigate only senior officials for corruption, and not all four million federal government officials. The campaigners believe both high and low ranking officials should be investigated.

... a separate ombudsman is wanted in every state. The government says states are already empowered to create their own ombudsmen

... the ombudsman to have powers to investigate MPs accused of taking bribes to vote or ask questions in the parliament. The government says such investigations can only be done by parliamentarians themselves.

So what options are open to the anti-corruption movement ...

In the spirit of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ...

... two supporters of Mr Hazare should volunteer as surrogate leaders and begin a fast in the morning in exactly the same spot chosen by Mr Hazare,

... and when those protesters are arrested, 

... four volunteers should replace them the next morning but possibly move the site of protest, and so on, doubling the volunteers until either thousands begin the fast or the government agree that no-one is above the law.

There is no place for corruption campaigners argue, it threatens the present and future of India.

I don't pay enough taxes he said ...

... in today's "Times".

The world’s third-richest man is unhappy about the amount of tax he has to pay: he says it is not nearly enough.

That’s not all. Warren Buffett says that his wealthy friends do not pay enough either. Indeed, he says that his tax rate is barely half that of his secretary. Mr Buffett calculates that his effective rate last year was 17.4 per cent compared with 33 to 41 per cent for colleagues in his office. 

Well that will make us very happy Mr Buffett, unfortunately yours is a lone voice, and when he says ...

... that his own tax rate comes about because most of his income comes in the form “earned interest” — probably from capital gains and share dividends — which is taxed at a rate of 15 per cent, instead of the top marginal rate of federal income tax of 35 per cent that applies to Americans who earn $373,650 or more.

... he skips past the problem, the complexity of taxation, the complexity brought about by the powerful influences who have negotiated unfair advantages, lower tax rates and allowable expenses.  Unfortunately the retired local authority worker of Anglesey has not been able to negotiate such advantages whilst supporting the more affluent members of society in his or her daily toil..

There should only be a single rate of tax coupled with a single tax allowance, and a business should be compelled, at inception, to be created as a Limited Company or later morph into a Public Limited Company, that way our businesses become "people", the company will pay tax on its income at the rate that each member of the taxpaying public will.

It's true that income from business to the individual will have been paid twice, once by the company and then recipients of dividends, but that's not a problem as I consider a single tax rate of 20% across the board would work, and when you consider a tax rate of 40% has been the norm for the wealthier members of society there is little to shout about.

What about company investments, that's an expense if the investment is made in our country, whatever country you reside in, if it is an investment elsewhere, raise the money elsewhere and let the local population enjoy the benefits.

What about tax-havens, pointless as income is taxed at source, if you want a foreign bank account, then move on to that country.

What about those that cheat the system, we have prisons.

What about the businesses and financiers who play hard-ball with government, you know the tack ...

... if you don't do it our way, if you don't give us an advantage we will leave.

... there is always someone else to take up the strain, that's "Capitalism".

Why am I so convinced that taxation is so unfair, it is because an industry has grown up to gain advantages for the few, and to minimise a persons contribution to the tax pot, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  It's very difficult to cheat when the game is simple ...

Rough justice for Richard Bowes, would zero tolerance have ...

...given him a longer life.

Should the rights of the majority who are law abiding citizens be curtailed because of the actions of the few, the very tiny minority who turn their back on society.

The word-smiths of Britain offer as an explanation for the recent mindless violence ...

• Welfare dependence
• Social exclusion
• Lack of fathers
• Spending cuts
• Weak policing
• Racism
• Gangsta rap and culture
• Consumerism
• Opportunism
• Technology and social networking

... the BBC link is here, it generated 1700 comments from the public.  It's psycho babble from those with more time on their hands than the majority who will recognise Richard Bowes by his constant willingness to stand up for that community against antisocial behaviour.

If the rioters represent one group at the margin of society, Mr Bowes belonged to another — solitary, private, but fiercely resistant to social disorder.

He lived in a flat above shops on Haven Green in central Ealing, and neighbours said he regularly remonstrated with youths who would urinate in the street after a night out drinking.

Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane, who is leading the inquiry, said local officers had witnessed the attack but were powerless to help as rioters bombarded them with bricks. “There was some suggestion he was attacked because he was stamping out fires that had been started,” he said.
The Times 12 Aug 2011

... and the statement by the police officer who admits the police failed to protect Richard Bowes, probably holds the key to why this man was murdered by the rioters, they had allowed the criminal activity to the point that they were suppressed by the rioters.  The police had become subordinate to the lawlessness.

The death of Richard Bowes is a testament to those that would look for excuses for lawlessness, it would be a better testament if a permanent solution were put in place throughout the UK ...

"Zero Tollerance"

Why should you or I be forced to tolerate any ant-social or criminal activity, the fact that a perpetrator didn't have access to the latest must have gadget is irrelevant, many millions of people unable to afford a BlackBerry or latest gaming machine do not go out onto the streets of Britain and make a nuisance of themselves to others.

The turgid word-smiths of the regions call the riots the "English disease", to the pathetic of Scotland and Wales I would ask them to look around their streets for symptoms of this particular disease, if you look you will find it, it is everywhere.  The riots were a manifestation of a culture so long ignored, a culture of "ME", a culture where people are expected to look the other way, a culture that emasculated the police, the courts and prisons.

Is there a place in Britain for the lawlessness that burnt neighbourhoods to the ground, the rioting and indiscriminate violence, I don't think so, and believe a certain answer lies with ...

"Zero Tolerance"

... why should anybody have to put up with people making their life a misery, and if you look under the carpet we call society there are not that many who should be excluded from society permanently and kept under the miserable conditions they expect us to tolerate.

It's time to take stock of what the public should be able to expect from society Mr Cameron and chums, chums of all political persuasions.