If something is legal it would be a duty of advisor to explain it to client if it is applicable. So when avoidance is employed I am angry with government which is allowing for these schemes to exist.

Now coming to Jimmy Carr. He’s paid his taxes due. He's also made money making jokes out of bankers for doing similar thing himself. Not as funny now.

PM was misguided to comment on Mr Carr's tax affairs, but that only shows his lack of judgment on yet another issue.

To: jgdoherty
You (indirectly) raise issue of tax being private a good thing. I'd much rather it being public one. In Norway (albeit a country with a lot smaller population) it's publicly accessible information. What is interesting it is not just the final figures that are on-line, but the whole computation if I am not mistaken. There are some embarrassing stories every year once the data becomes available, but the sheer openness makes people more responsible in paying their dues. I admit that such data on UK's records may be too much of a hot potato. Just imagine the positives that can come out of it within a couple of years.


Mrs Blair has been misquoted. What she said seemed perfectly reasonable to me. I am sad but I think that feminism is rather misunderstood and it would be difficult for me to explain it well. I’ll try to illustrate few points:
1 – Women seek financial independence from their partner. This is because we do not live in perfect world where you can guarantee that if you marry well you will still be married 30-50 years later (divorce rate is about 50%, not sure about bereavement rate).
2 – Mrs Blair talked about collective aspirations that yummy mummies were projecting not necessarily their individual choices. This ideal norm then filters down to the rest of the society. The choices exercised once the financial implications are removed. (Lots of families have very little choice once the finance comes into play)
3 – They chose not to continue their careers even though they could afford to employ all the necessary help. They choose not to be independent of their husbands. Seems like a step back in feminism.

So our perfect family: man is at work and mother at home raising children. Why not one parent at the time at home and both parents having a career?