Messi alleged tax fraud

[Andyregs]

. They want to take other people's money and spend on themselves to obtain a higher standard of living and that is as potentially greedy as not paying taxes that are due.

 

What on earth are you on about? We aren't talking about king John and Robin Hood here? The tax man isn't after messi's money to buy a swimming pool!

I've never spoken to someone with such a bizarre and contradictory world view.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest people of all, is setting out to give way most of his fortune before he dies to charitable causes. The important thing to note is that he wants control of how that is done and he won't be trusting the US Government to do it for him.

 

He's probably given up much of his cash in tax already so the important thing is he's already trusted the US govt to do it for him with much of is wealth by choosing to be a US taxpayer...and it is a choice

[JOHNNYAITCH]

They want to take other people's money and spend on themselves to obtain a higher standard of living and that is as potentially greedy as not paying taxes that are due. .

 

That's just so wrong. yes there are corrupt govts and politicians but in the vast majority of cases govts don't spend money on themselves..they don't take tax to buy a nice car or build a duck house..look where most taxation goes..welfare, health, defence, state wages.

 

They just want Messi (if guilty) to pay what is due, not so they can upgrade their SKY subscription and have a larger prozzy fund

 

Wrong on soooo many levels

[Warren]

That's just so wrong. yes there are corrupt govts and politicians but in the vast majority of cases govts don't spend money on themselves..they don't take tax to buy a nice car or build a duck house..look where most taxation goes..welfare, health, defence, state wages.

 

They just want Messi (if guilty) to pay what is due, not so they can upgrade their SKY subscription and have a larger prozzy fund

 

Wrong on soooo many levels

 

Rephrase. The mass of the population want a higher level of public services and a higher level of personal benefits (e.g. pensions) than the state can afford and which they have not been prepared to pay for themselves. If a black man is asked to pay higher levels of tax because he is black that in many peoples' / most peoples' world view is wrong. If a wealthy person is asked to pay higher rate tax it isn't, yet it is these very people whose motivation, skill and work is needed to generate wealth for everyone else.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

I'm all for allowing those that generate wealth and have got themslevs in apositn of being wealthy or income rich to keep their fair share, I belive in a flat rate of tax for example

 

But if the rules say you must pay X then you pay it, you don't not pay it cos you object to it

[Warren]

I'm all for allowing those that generate wealth and have got themslevs in apositn of being wealthy or income rich to keep their fair share, I belive in a flat rate of tax for example

 

But if the rules say you must pay X then you pay it, you don't not pay it cos you object to it

 

I agree with this of course, but subject to reasonableness which is I admit open to debate. The election by the masses of a politician to impose a 75% tax on the higher level earners and wealth generators is likely to cause them to react and to find ways of avoiding the tax aggressively. The politician in that situation cannot claim some moral superiority and the politician and the masses get what they deserve.

 

I heard another potentially legitimate and illegitimate argument today about the poor in developing countries being harmed by aggressive tax avoidance. Well maybe, but if paying taxes is to a corrupt government that certainly isn't the case and visiting the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index pages will show you that most of the world is corrupt.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Court date set

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22987229

[Santa]

He's imputado, which doesn't mean that he's been charged, but it acknowledges that something suspicious has happened and he has to go and explain himself.

[Warren]

The UK countries have adversarial systems of justice. The Police and CPS investigate and decide to charge. In many other countries they have systems where the judge leads the investigative process and decides whether it should continue. This affords some advantages such as early settlement after negotiation. That is likely here.

 

Given that Messi is in effect a product, his image rights and tax affairs will be managed for him and he will act under advice. He has concentrated on football as a career since childhood and will not have pursued an academic education. These are all factors to take in to account. In the end there will be a test for dishonesty as there is in the UK (Ghosh test) and it incorporate the concepts of intent and knowing.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

I guess he can personally claim that he didn't believe that what he was doing was dishonest, especially if advised by paid experts and simply followed their advice (second part og Ghosh)..happens a lot in complex financial cases

 

But he could I assume still be called upon to pay the tax due.

[Warren]

Yes, I am sure he will personally want to get this out of the way. In the end he has travelled from being a poor child in Argentina whose parents could not afford the medical treatment he needed to a very wealthy person. So I doubt he grasps at money in the way that for example some of our bankers do.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

I don't see him exactly offering to play for nothing nor turning down what he is offered by Barcelona, sponsors for a lower amount etc.....