A former employee of HSBC recently leaked data that revealed 106,000 of the bank’s clients in Switzerland held secret accounts with the bank for the sole purpose of avoiding taxes. The leak revealed that the clients came from over 200 countries and were hiding over $118 billion dollars in the accounts. The data also revealed that HM Revenue and Customs failed to prosecute citizens who they knew were liable for unpaid taxes. Proponents of prosecution believe the government should take a more active role in monitoring people’s taxes and those caught evading taxes should be subject to stiff fines or jail time. Opponents believe that the people who evaded taxes were not breaking any laws since their funds were stored in Swiss bank accounts.
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@92M28HD4yrs4Y
No, the system should be reformed to prevent the ability to do so rather than trying to chase after the fact - that’s just a road to massive wastes of time & resources
@BCWQ5YV3 days3D
Punish without foreign interference.
@B7MNWKB 6mos6MO
Is 'evading' and 'avoiding' not the same thing? in terms of financial prosecution would it not be better to implement a minimum 10% additional taxes on top of the originally avoided taxes owed as a form of punishment?
@B6295BPConservative10mos10MO
depends what they’re using the money for. should only be a problem if they’re using the money for evil purposes. basically, not regulated but would be taken away from offenders in a criminal case
@9PZ2RJC2yrs2Y
No. Those of us that work hard get taxed enough. Stop penalising people with money to give it to those that can’t be bothered earning their own.
@9JFLZDV2yrs2Y
Only if the money is “hidden”, if the individual reports all money held overseas it should not be taxed.
@97ZSBF93yrs3Y
Yes, and work with the EU and US to crack down on this internationally
@92HS22D4yrs4Y
No, only in cases of evasion not avoidance, but government should actively seek to close down avoidance loopholes
@9CMCDL5Liberal Democrat3yrs3Y
Yes if the evasion is wilful and substantial. Otherwise it is a waste of money
@9CLP6GT3yrs3Y
Yes if the avoidance or evasion is wilful.
@9BTJW4S3yrs3Y
Taxation is theft, abolish all taxes.
@999P9WK3yrs3Y
Taxes are pointless and go to politicians parties like what boris did
@98MVPBX3yrs3Y
just ask them to buss you a tenner then its calm
@98GB6F83yrs3Y
Only if illegal and non transparent
@92ZZKFJConservative4yrs4Y
No, but make it harder to do.
If its avoidance you cannot prosecute, but regulations should be increased to prevent money being moved out of the country
@96T65VQ3yrs3Y
Yes. In cases where convictions are made all government expenses related to recovering the money should be paid for by the offender.
No. There could be a big reason behind this such as bankruptcy or large debt but they shouldn’t be required to live in the UK
@8YGGHN74yrs4Y
Yes, if they have broken the law. Crack down on tax loopholes.
@8X446MC4yrs4Y
This depends on the income of the individual
@8KJS9695yrs5Y
Yes, I would make sure people who are involved in a suspicious transaction indicating tax fraud would be under suspicion. However, I’d initially prevent this from happening by creating guidelines that are helpful in recognising potential tax fraud.
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