UK big earners 'avoid income tax'
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/6227070.stm Version 0 of 1. Many of the UK's highest earners are avoiding income tax, figures obtained by the Evening Standard have shown. According to the newspaper, out of the hundreds of people paid more than £10m a year in the UK, only 65 are facing income tax bills. The UK Treasury is examining the amount of tax paid by private equity firms after criticism of the industry. At the same time, the UK tax authority has warned it will continue with its attempts to track down offshore funds. The Evening Standard said it got the tax figures following a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Fluid market Concerns have arisen regarding tax levels as the size and number of big industry buyouts and takeovers by private equity firms have increased, boosting bankers' wage packets. London also is seeing an influx of wealthy inhabitants and business people, raising further question marks over whether or not the Treasury is getting all it is entitled to. On Wednesday, bosses of private equity firms defended the industry's right to tax breaks. The businessmen, giving evidence to a Treasury select committee, were questioned on a number of issues, including the opaque environment in which they operate and job losses at the firms they take over. In the meantime, the UK tax authority has been going after offshore funds and has warned 400,000 people that they have until Friday to make a full disclosure. A thousand people an hour are now admitting to HMRC they have tax to pay. 'Off the hook' Unions have been some of the most vocal critics of tax breaks for the highly-paid. "Pay for top earners in the UK has been soaring away," said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. "Now we learn that they hardly any pay income tax either. "It's time government stopped letting them off the hook of paying their fair share, and it's time for a national debate about what to do about the growing gap between the soaraway rich and the rest of us," he said. |