Moral crusade just a ploy for a larger state
Once again, the leak of millions of financial documents has unleashed a deluge of synthetic outrage against wealthy people allegedly failing to pay their taxes. Among those whose financial affairs have been exposed is the Queen, or rather the Duchy of Lancaster, which provides much of the Monarch’s income. This apparent scandal was unearthed by the BBC’S Panorama programme, one of the media organisations invited to examine the hacked papers, which incidentally failed to disclose how stars of its own sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys were using a convoluted tax regime to pay their own salaries.
The Queen’s financial advisers decided to invest some of her money in the Cayman Islands, which is a British Overseas Territory, as is Bermuda. There is something perverse about accusing the Monarch of benefiting from an off-shore portfolio in two countries of which she is head of state. Moreover, the Queen is not required to pay tax but makes a voluntary contribution based on her income under a 1993 memorandum of understanding.
Absurdly, Jeremy Corbyn says all those named, including Her Majesty, should “apologise” for what they have done to society – even though most of them contribute significantly to the Treasury. Most of what is being disclosed does not constitute unethical, let alone illegal, activity. Indeed, millions of people have money invested in offshore funds through their pension schemes. One that benefits John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, is based in Guernsey. Will he apologise or subject himself to the public inquiry he has demanded?
As with the Panama Papers, this story has been hijacked by anti-capitalist campaigners who object to the fact that some people are richer than others. Yet wealth creation funds the very services and welfare programmes that the Left wants to expand. There have long been serious issues about the potential for funds to be siphoned off into terrorist or other criminal activity, but these have largely been addressed by authorities around the world.
What we are seeing here masquerading as a great moral crusade is an attempt to close down legitimate tax vehicles so that decisions on where people put their money can in future be taken by the state. Theresa May is right to resist demands for a register of offshore trusts. But we need to hear a more robust counter-blast in favour of lower taxes that people would not feel compelled to avoid.