Bankers have again shown their contempt for democracy by avoiding an estimated £10 million in tax.
Lawyers and top civil servants at Revenue and Customs have been questioned by MPs over a tax repayment agreement made with Goldman Sachs.
The Wall Street investment banking firm fought a five year battle to avoid national insurance payments on bankers’ bonuses, which were paid from offshore tax havens.
They eventually settled with HMRC, but tax officials allowed Goldman Sachs to avoid paying an additional £8-10 million in interest.
Top tax chiefs say that they didn’t understand they could charge interest (why not?), and that an official has lost his bonus because of the error.
Phone giant Vodafone has also been subject to government scrutiny after they were not asked to pay interest on a £1.25 billion tax settlement.
A key transitional demand for socialists has to be that banks open their books and stop evading tax.
