Zombie Sellers

[CarnoustieCats]

Here is a Zombie seller

http://uk.ebid.net/for-sale/adult-sh...-133547725.htm

nice one ...

[SparkyLabs]

As eBid is a UK registered company, essentially trading here, I can't see how they could cheat the UK tax system.

Haven't you listened to the news over the last couple of years ? A company only needs be owned by another company abroad or own a subsidery abroad in a country that has cheaper tax regimes of course and all that profit is syphoned abroad and lower taxes paid in a country that is not the ones where the money was spent and where the company benefitted from it's infrastructure. There have been a few high profile cases but well what do you think accountants are for ?

[johnwash1]

Haven't you listened to the news over the last couple of years ? A company only needs be owned by another company abroad or own a subsidery abroad in a country that has cheaper tax regimes of course and all that profit is syphoned abroad and lower taxes paid in a country that is not the ones where the money was spent and where the company benefitted from it's infrastructure. There have been a few high profile cases but well what do you think accountants are for ?

I think accountants are for filling in all the forms I don't have patience to figure out. There's a lot of difference between accountants who service small businesses and the likes of Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Since you're not getting a straight answer here about eBid and whether they're paying UK tax, why not try emailing support, saying that you would like to include a flyer to your customers, and asking if they pay tax in the UK? And, um, how can I put this... try to keep the wording nice and light -- I feel some of your writing comes across rather aggressive, even though you probably don't mean it to.

[SparkyLabs]

Well there seem to be different levels of accountants, seems to depend on how much money you have to spend.

I could write direct yes, it would be nice to know as it may be a compelling reason for some buyers to rely less on ebay.

Yes people do seem to take my writing as more aggressive than I intended but I prefer to not mince words and say what a mean and look at the facts rather than sit on the fence. Not much point in making a point that does not have a point....... because I'm scared to express what i think

[johnwash1]

Well there seem to be different levels of accountants, seems to depend on how much money you have to spend.

I could write direct yes, it would be nice to know as it may be a compelling reason for some buyers to rely less on ebay.

Yes people do seem to take my writing as more aggressive than I intended but I prefer to not mince words and say what a mean and look at the facts rather than sit on the fence. Not much point in making a point that does not have a point....... because I'm scared to express what i think

It's not an "either/or". In real life there's a whole spectrum between coming across agressive and mincing words like a wimp. Would it be less confrontational if you asked a question rather than slamming down your point of view?

Yes, I'm sure you're right about accountants. Probably much the same as when you walk into Dixons and one of the first questions they ask is "How much are you thinking of spending?".

[SparkyLabs]

Everybody should have an opinion, it means they actually think for themselves. People who are too scared to have an opinion less they upset somebody are generally the ones that start bawling their eyes out the moment somebody makes a suggestion or has an idea or as we like to call it an opinion. An opinion is simply what somebody thinks. It is not trying to tell other people the way things really do work or what they should think. People can of course come up with a counter opinion that is what debating is all about.

Any time I hear accountant mentioned I am told that they save you more than they cost you which is a non-opinionated way of saying that they are there to find loopholes in the law which allow you to pay less tax than was perhaps expected. You will start with a very low level where an accountant can point out genuine expenses you can claim against your profits for example I could claim a percentage of my utility bills against my business as I work from home. I don't bother to do this as the amount of tax it would save me is not worth my time filing all the paperwork through. There are lots of quirks in the law and schemes come and go and these are the things accountants keep abreast with so that they can make sure their clients can take best advantage of what the government is offering as we don't all trawl through every piece of legislation. Then of course you get on to accountants who make it their job to be quite creative and find loopholes which were never meant to be there or convoluted ways of avoiding tax which although may be legal are totally immoral.

Charity status is something that should be carefully looked at. I once heard a program on how rich people would donate an amount of money to a charity, as it was a donation they got 20% of the tax break and the charity got 20%. They then borrowed the money back from that charity. The result other than probably being money laundering was that the money never really went anywhere but you and me paid out of the government coffers 40% of the money that never went anywhere in gift aid. Obviously that goes into the realm of illegal but you have to catch them first. No doubt a few accountants running that show.

[MPS16]

Then of course you get on to accountants who make it their job to be quite creative and find loopholes which were never meant to be there or convoluted ways of avoiding tax which although may be legal are totally immoral....

Tax avoidence is legal.

You might not like it.

But it is not immoral.

[SparkyLabs]

Well morality is one of those things that are the opinion of each person, there is no clear definition of it.

We live in a society and the needs of the society need paying for. If we want our public services we need to pay for them. We also seem to highly value our freedom within the constraints of a society. The only problem is the balance between freedom and giving up some of our so-called freedoms in the name of the common good is an ever moving boundary. Morality seems to be the bit that adds some cushioning either side, if you don't want to be ridiculously constrained by law you need to accept that you have a duty to make the right moral decision. If you are going to want everything your way all the time and exactly what you want regardless of anybody else then your every move would have to be regulated by a law and then of course nobody would be happy either.

I have a friend, well when he's not too busy to talk to me. His father is an accountant. He is employed by his father. But he does not do any work for his father. Moral or not? It's the easiest and oldest tax dodge in the book because nobody can prove if any work is being done. And of course while this goes on with most people accepting it there are plenty who do it, there was an uproar when an MP was found to be employing his son on expenses when his son was doing no work. So should every business have a CCTV camera to ensure that everybody who is on the books is actually working in the premises? That would go against our freedoms I believe. So it is up to the individuals to decide what they want to do and how they feel about it.

There is an interesting programme on BBC1 called the rich and us, it's quite interesting to hear what some people have to say. Something is wrong with our society but nobody seems to want to budge. Despite advice from a wealthy business person that I should not bother to register self-employed and that I should work illegally and dodge tax I chose to take the legal path, because I would not be able to face for example going to the doctor or hospital and knowing that I am not paying my way.

[sidthelamp]

if they make the rules loop holes ​ do they think were not going to use them,

[sidthelamp]

Well morality is one of those things that are the opinion of each person, there is no clear definition of it.

We live in a society and the needs of the society need paying for. If we want our public services we need to pay for them. We also seem to highly value our freedom within the constraints of a society. The only problem is the balance between freedom and giving up some of our so-called freedoms in the name of the common good is an ever moving boundary. Morality seems to be the bit that adds some cushioning either side, if you don't want to be ridiculously constrained by law you need to accept that you have a duty to make the right moral decision. If you are going to want everything your way all the time and exactly what you want regardless of anybody else then your every move would have to be regulated by a law and then of course nobody would be happy either.

I have a friend, well when he's not too busy to talk to me. His father is an accountant. He is employed by his father. But he does not do any work for his father. Moral or not? It's the easiest and oldest tax dodge in the book because nobody can prove if any work is being done. And of course while this goes on with most people accepting it there are plenty who do it, there was an uproar when an MP was found to be employing his son on expenses when his son was doing no work. So should every business have a CCTV camera to ensure that everybody who is on the books is actually working in the premises? That would go against our freedoms I believe. So it is up to the individuals to decide what they want to do and how they feel about it.

There is an interesting programme on BBC1 called the rich and us, it's quite interesting to hear what some people have to say. Something is wrong with our society but nobody seems to want to budge. Despite advice from a wealthy business person that I should not bother to register self-employed and that I should work illegally and dodge tax I chose to take the legal path, because I would not be able to face for example going to the doctor or hospital and knowing that I am not paying my way.

the society i live in the uk , seems to spend al ot of my taxes and every one else's taxes on foreign aid , funding illegal wars , giving the society hierarchy obscene salaries ,funding quangos which effectively act as state police to stop me earning money in favour of big corporations who wont pay any tax at all , then because of this the poor in said society are made to suffer because the exchequer revenue is down,how about tax free industries which offer 100% tax free across all types of tax, only the wealthy can buy into it, and is increasingly being bought into by outside uk investors, yes we have a really good society that looks after its own people,