FabSwingers.com forum: Ken Livingstone

By *uckoo clock OP Couple
over a year ago

Merseyside

Ken Livingstone is reported as having used a tax loop hole to avoid paying £50,000 tax on his previous years income of £232,000.by paying the money into a private company, wholly owned by him to avoid paying 40% tax.

Despite having critiicised tax avoiders in the past as 'rich bastards', is he being just as canny as them or being downright hypocritical ??

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By *aceytopWoman
over a year ago

from a town near you

bloody hypocrite

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By *etillanteWoman
over a year ago

Downright hypocritical bastard lol

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By *laggieWoman
over a year ago

Derby

It's ALL justified under...'Politician'..int it ?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

David Milliband also uses this trick.

Labour: Do As We Say, Not As We Do.

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By *littylikka69Man
over a year ago

West Midlands

he's just(yet)another champagne socialist who makes a lot of noise about people in business with money in order for him to try to command a bit of respect with the voters whilst underhandedly fleecing them,but the people of london who don't/won't buy the sun newspaper will vote for him as lord mayor agaib cos thery like him!.

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

"he's just(yet)another champagne socialist who makes a lot of noise about people in business with money in order for him to try to command a bit of respect with the voters whilst underhandedly fleecing them,but the people of london who don't/won't buy the sun newspaper will vote for him as lord mayor agaib cos thery like him!.

So how exactly is he 'fleecing' the people (voters) of London?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The system allows them to do it. It's quite a simple process, you invoice the people you work for via a company you've set up for that purpose then you take a modest wage out of the profits - keeping yourself below the 40% tax threshold, then at the end of the year you award yourself a nice little director's bonus and/or dividend which is taxable at a flat rate of 20%. You can also syphon off a proportion of it to your private pension which is taxed when you draw it and not when you pay it in. Private healthcare for all the family is paid by the company too as is all your utility bills and any second home you need in London to assist you in your day to day business.

You'd be a mug not to tbh.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

pretty much all the politicians are at it these days, they are one of the most crooked, worst behaved sections in society and have a cheek moralising to the people.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"David Milliband also uses this trick.

Labour: Do As We Say, Not As We Do."

Maybe that's the real reason Ed the Red was selected as Labour leader and not his much more capable - and savvy - brother.

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By *littylikka69Man
over a year ago

West Midlands

lol,by carefully avoiding paying tax thus fleecing those that do pay tax of course!.

if they do pay tax themselves of course?.

i mean they do pay tax as honest citizens dont they?.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"pretty much all the politicians are at it these days, they are one of the most crooked, worst behaved sections in society and have a cheek moralising to the people."

Don't you believe it. Anyone with an ounce of sense will set up their tax affairs similarly. Why pay money to the taxman to fritter away needlessly.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

he is a champange socialist, goes everywhere by taxi, and invented the so called congestion charge, also welcomes terrorists to speak at county hall and says your welcome back to this country anytime.

What a lovely person he is....... Not

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I don't advocate the Amrican system of shooting politicans you don't like but I'd make an exception in his case.

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

"lol,by carefully avoiding paying tax thus fleecing those that do pay tax of course!.

if they do pay tax themselves of course?.

i mean they do pay tax as honest citizens dont they?."

He would only be 'fleecing' the taxman if he were undertaking an illegal act...which he isn't.

It's common for individuals in this country to form limited companies to divert a percentage of income into....they then pay corporation tax at 20% on this part of their earnings, rather than 40% income tax.

They only have to prove to the taxman that these 'ghost' companies are formed to handle personal appearance fees and not a direct payment for services rendered in a commercial capacity.

So yes....highly hypocritical.....but perfectly legal and more common than you might imagine.

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

"I don't advocate the Amrican system of shooting politicans you don't like but I'd make an exception in his case."

Why?....because he is taking advantage of the Tory led campaign to drive down corporation tax at the expense of lower rate income tax payers?

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By *ollie_JCouple
over a year ago

London

[Removed by poster at 27/02/12 18:01:21]

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By *uckscouple2007Couple
over a year ago

Bucks

early in his Mayor of London job (not the GLC one) my late mother was a friend of the caller at a mini cab firm who would tell her that - despite his public announcements that he took the Jubilee Line from home (Willesden) to work - KL would actually book a cab thru her firm on a regular basis

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I like Ken, i just think he should drop his bid for the mayoralty..he's already had his bite of the cherry, twice!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"early in his Mayor of London job (not the GLC one) my late mother was a friend of the caller at a mini cab firm who would tell her that - despite his public announcements that he took the Jubilee Line from home (Willesden) to work - KL would actually book a cab thru her firm on a regular basis

I am not a great fan of Ken Livingston, but I am originally from London, and I have to say that I saw him on the Tube frequently. I also saw him on buses.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I don't advocate the Amrican system of shooting politicans you don't like but I'd make an exception in his case."

I don't advocate the Bushmen method of dealing with those of a certain age who have an adverse effect on their society but I'd make an exception in the case of every member of the forty something 'me me me' generation and happily supervise rounding them all up so they can be dumped in the middle of the Kalahari desert.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Ken Livingstone is reported as having used a tax loop hole to avoid paying £50,000 tax on his previous years income of £232,000.by paying the money into a private company, wholly owned by him to avoid paying 40% tax.

Despite having critiicised tax avoiders in the past as 'rich bastards', is he being just as canny as them or being downright hypocritical ?? "

Of course he is being hypocritical but all he is doing is the same as most people would do if the opportunity to keep £50,000 I would assume he still paid more tax than the rest of us though.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I don't advocate the Amrican system of shooting politicans you don't like but I'd make an exception in his case.

Why?....because he is taking advantage of the Tory led campaign to drive down corporation tax at the expense of lower rate income tax payers?

Yeah sure Jane, like it's a special Tory-only let's avoid our taxes club. Tsk - cheap soundbite from you there, I'd have expected better.

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By *ushroom7Man
over a year ago

Bradford

....i presume.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Seeing as Ken has spent his whole political career working in London there's always a lot of people from outside London who have an opinion on him. don't believe everything you read in the papers cos they only concentrate on the (spun)bad stuff.When have you ever seen a positive story in the press about him? That doesn't mean he doesn't do good things for London..As for Boris..

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Seeing as Ken has spent his whole political career working in London there's always a lot of people from outside London who have an opinion on him. don't believe everything you read in the papers cos they only concentrate on the (spun)bad stuff.When have you ever seen a positive story in the press about him? That doesn't mean he doesn't do good things for London..As for Boris..

I'm sure many Londoners would extol the virtues of both men, and I believe both men believe they are doing their utmost for the people of London. Ken's cavalier persona annoys the hell out of me, and Boris' Mad Professor image is as equally annoying. Why can't London have a normal person as mayor who concentrates on the job in hand and not his/her public image.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

" welcomes terrorists to speak at county hall and says your welcome back to this country anytime.

What a lovely person he is....... Not "

Should we not speak to terrorists then? we wouldn't have reached the good friday agreement without doing so. And an IRA bomb hasn't gone off for quite a while on the mainland.

Is he an arsehole? or maybe he was 20 years ahead of his time?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

" welcomes terrorists to speak at county hall and says your welcome back to this country anytime.

What a lovely person he is....... Not

Should we not speak to terrorists then? we wouldn't have reached the good friday agreement without doing so. And an IRA bomb hasn't gone off for quite a while on the mainland.

Is he an arsehole? or maybe he was 20 years ahead of his time?"

Oh do me a favour. Livingston doesn't do anything that doesn't have a positive effect on Livingston. He is very aware of his public image and does everything he can to promote himself first.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

and why does everyone think that ken spoke to terrorists at county hall and 'invited them back anytime'

if i remember rightly the people involved were refused entry

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

" welcomes terrorists to speak at county hall and says your welcome back to this country anytime.

What a lovely person he is....... Not

Should we not speak to terrorists then? we wouldn't have reached the good friday agreement without doing so. And an IRA bomb hasn't gone off for quite a while on the mainland.

Is he an arsehole? or maybe he was 20 years ahead of his time?

Oh do me a favour. Livingston doesn't do anything that doesn't have a positive effect on Livingston. He is very aware of his public image and does everything he can to promote himself first."

are you sure? Ken over the the last 35 years has promoted anti racism and anti homophobia causes more than any other politician in London. and he done a good job while doing it. All of a sudden its Cameron's new baby

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

" are you sure? Ken over the the last 35 years has promoted anti racism and anti homophobia causes more than any other politician in London. and he done a good job while doing it. All of a sudden its Cameron's new baby"

He's a person in public office, if it suits his public image to campaign for earthworms to have their own footbridge over the A12 he'll come out fighting for it. What I'm saying is that he has to do something to justify his office so he picks his causes very carefully, and doesn't pick other cuases that are as equally worthwhile but have no political mileage in them for his future election campaigns.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

He's being completely normal and avoiding paying unneccessary tax where he doesn't have to. I'm about to do something myself because I'm fed up of half my wages paying for spongers who do naff all.

That said, I'm not the one preaching loudly and offensively about how other people need to change their lives - calling all drivers "morons" for example like Ken Livingstone.

He's a Grade A arsehole and it's just a pity that other arsehole Michael Stone didn't assassinate him in the 80s before he went to jail for his other terrorist actions.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I totally agree with most of the thing that have been said.....

Not being funny with any one on here... But at the end of the day .... Most people do the same .... Not on that scale..

I am self employed and we are struggling in todays market... Thats just the way things are.... But if he's found a loophole ... So what.. Good luck to him

Sam

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

oops - I'm talking about him as though he's still London mayor, but he isn't is he lol. I guess that proves just how much he's placed himself in the collective consciousness of the public.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"calling all drivers "morons" for example like Ken Livingstone.

he was actually referring to the amount of people using 4x4's in the more trendy parts of central london especially people from kensington taking tarquin and tara on the school run..and the fact that they spew out more pollutants.

So...not 'all drivers'

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

" welcomes terrorists to speak at county hall and says your welcome back to this country anytime.

What a lovely person he is....... Not

Should we not speak to terrorists then? we wouldn't have reached the good friday agreement without doing so. And an IRA bomb hasn't gone off for quite a while on the mainland.

Is he an arsehole? or maybe he was 20 years ahead of his time?

Oh do me a favour. Livingston doesn't do anything that doesn't have a positive effect on Livingston. He is very aware of his public image and does everything he can to promote himself first.

You can't fault Ken on trying to stop discrimination. Some wont like him though so smear campaign will always be on the horizon.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

@OP ... it's alright for some ain't it

ooyah beaut

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

£232,000 gross on I guess what will be near 9% so £20k in tax which is not a small sum.

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By *amschwingerzCouple
over a year ago

West

Despite having critiicised tax avoiders in the past as 'rich bastards', is he being just as canny as them or being downright hypocritical ?? "

Cant stand the bloke...

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By *UNCHBOXMan
over a year ago

folkestone

When rich people do things like this, it makes Cameron talking bollocks about us all being in this together laughable. When you have rich tossers paying less tax than their cleaners, something is seriously wrong.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Why the surprise that a labour politician preaches that we should all pay fair taxes then uses tax rules to avoid tax

It's legal but the ethics stink

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