Barlow tax avoidance humbug

By Robin Smith

Today has brought another frenzy of anti-tax-avoidance hypocrisy. Even the top British newspaper, The Times, is now co-opted into the lie.

We admire Mr. Barlow for the best of reasons. He is exposing how bad the entire system of taxation really is by revealing how easy it is to avoid tax.

For that alone he deserves his celebrity status and all his wealth. By this act he is doing far more than any charity. When anyone approaches us complaining about tax avoidance we say, “But you yourself are avoiding tax. What is your point?”

To which they usually reply with something in meaning like, “Yes, but no but… I am a special case”

Then we ask, “Barlow and you are paying their tax in full under the law. What do you mean by tax avoidance?”

“We mean paying their fair share”

“OK, so how much is “Their fair share” and who determines their fair share, if not the law… is it you based on your whims and how do you decide how much is enough?”

To which the reply is often, “But I give plenty to charity, go to church and help people generally”

We end up by putting this point of certainty before them, “If you do not like it that property owners(most of Barlow’s untaxed wealth is in property assets) do not pay enough tax, then why don’t you find your spine and call out for the law to be changed such that the biggest asset of the biggest tax avoiders – property in land – is taxed instead of earned incomes?”

At this point the hypocrite starts to project hate and violence onto us or storms off like a child unable to keep his sweets. The reason being that they have lots and lots of property too. They are simply jealous of the likes of Mr. Barlow who have been extremely successful at getting wealthy. The hypocrite, though maybe wealthy is a very unhappy human being. The hypocrites who are poor are in a very bad place indeed for the same reason.

These hypocrites are not the dumb and feckless. They are often highly intelligent, well educated, wealthy people. They are who Christ was referring to when he talked about the snakes and vipers. We are not religious by the way but by goodness that guy talked a lot of sense about these righteous do-gooders.