British tax dodgers will soon find a way round the Chancellor's latest attempt at a clamp-down. Like this, perhaps There is no limit to people's ingenuity.
Living in Monte Carlo would not be my cup of tea, but people are mobile. If governments try to tax them, they will dodge. Land, on the other hand, is fixed and cannot be removed to a tax haven or hidden. If governments base their revenue-raising on land holding, then they will not lose their revenue through tax avoidance.
If you see this and have the Chancellor's ear, could you remind him, please?
The Guardian has published a couple more articles against HS2, one by specialist rail commentator Christian Wolmar, and another today by journalist Simon Jenkins. The main arguments in favour will doubtless be wheeled out by the commentators: the need for capacity and the disruption caused by upgrading existing routes. HST itself will severely disrupt services to Euston during the construction period. Capacity can be increased at a fraction of the cost by a variety of measures, provided that it is accepted that the additional traffic will run at existing speeds. It is not generally known that the Midland main line is, or was, four track all the way from London to Trent Junction, between Nottingham and Derby. This is because the additional tracks are separate, having been added for coal trains which trundled down to Brent sidings, on the edge of London, from a collection point at Toton in Nottinghamshire, where the Midland Railway build a huge marshalling yard. Beyond Derby, the main l...
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