Go after the REAL cheats.

Happy New Year. The piece of print media called the Daily Express, has got stuff all over it's front page about very entrepreneurial benefit exploiters making £60k+ a year.They are costing us poor taxpayers £15m a year. WOW. Of course this is wrong & should be corrected. But I wish I could understand why we poor bloody taxpaying infantry get so worked up about it. It plays into the hands of the REAL rip off merchants. Just one example of scores where we are being seriously ripped off by the rich & powerful.

Liberal Democrats calculate that some £750million is being lost every year in taxes when house purchases are hidden behind offshore companies. A one bedroom flat in the block called One Hyde Park I believe costs over £3.5m. The most expensive was reported at about £136m. Planning permission was granted for 86 apartments. About 60 have been sold - a significant number to overseas companies registered in Tax Havens. For example 25 apparently in the British Virgin Islands. Only 9 are paying Council Tax. Westminster City Council is trying to find out who owns the rest. The developers say they are not responsible for registering people for council tax. It seems the only way is for council officials to do a door to door survey - if they can get past the 'Security' at the entrance to the block.

So what is the huge burden of Council Tax that these poor rich people are not paying?
Council Tax valuations in Westminster ( and Blackpool) are as at 1991 property prices when Band H (the highest) values the property more than £320000. Currently, in Westminster, about 96.5% of properties for sale are in G & H. The Council Tax which is being avoided on One Hyde Park is just £1375.24 per annum.

In Blackpool, (which has the lowest average wage in England of just over £15000 p.a.), only about 10% of properties for sale are in G & H and the Council Tax charge on G & H properties is £ 3032 p.a.. Only those people in Blackpool living in a Band A,B,C, property pay what the Westminster millionaires should pay, but apparently don't i.e. £1375. This is a sick & disgusting story. One Nation? All in it together? Only in Tory fantasy land.

Where are you Daily Express?