Let’s face it, they didn’t write the laws that allow them to avoid paying tax in this country. And they aren’t doing anything illegal, just smart. It’s our government, this one, and the one before it, that set up a system that let rich people laugh at the rest of us, sitting in first class on a standard class ticket.
It’s a sense of entitlement, these people who have never had to decide between baked beans and jacket potatoes three nights in a row. Who have never had to work out whether to go for a television licence or a phone line, because you can’t afford both. (This was in the days before mobile phones. Pay as you go is a lifeline, quite literally, for people not sure whether they can pay a phone bill from month to month.)
The problem is that we’ve got a system in this country now, where we, the people, are subsidising large companies and rich people. Yes, you read that right. Each cut to a welfare bill is effectively going straight out of the pocket of someone vulnerable into the pocket of someone who really doesn’t need it. We’ve a crony capitalism system that keeps wages low because we have in work benefits, so we’re paying Starbucks to not pay us tax. If all these companies actually paid living wages, tax bills all round could be lower because we wouldn’t need the tax credits system.
I saw on twitter today someone referring to housing benefit as a private landlord subsidy method. Basically tax credits are a corporation subsidy mechanism. I think it’s wrong. I think it should stop. But I’ve got no idea what to do about it.
Anyone?
For another point of view on it, check out Liska’s post on why she is boycotting.
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