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From the outset let me state that I don't begrudge a bit of financial help to anybody after a disaster such as Irma, but it makes me wonder how, at the drop of a hat, the Gov can find £32million, and two days later another £25million when so many of our own essential services and charities are struggling to survive on a day to day basis. If they can find that sort of money to give away, they can obviously do more for our NHS, Hospices and homeless, let alone anybody else who is struggling.
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Likewise foreign aid, (bribes).
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Do you think we'll get the money back in arms sales?
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While I agree with you in theory Devonite, I'm acutely aware that if I had no electricity, no water and no home my view may be very different.
Pat
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You'd think there'd be enough avoided tax sitting in the British Virgin Islands, or under Richard Branson's hollowed out volcano, to more than pick up the bill...
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Wed 13 Sep 17 at 16:35
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That's the thing, the taxpayers pick up the bill, and they don't have any tax payers.
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>> While I agree with you in theory Devonite, I'm acutely aware that if I had
>> no electricity, no water and no home my view may be very different.
>>
>> Pat
>>
It's nice and warm though.
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>> From the outset let me state that I don't begrudge a bit of financial help
>> to anybody after a disaster such as Irma, but it makes me wonder how, at
>> the drop of a hat, the Gov can find £32million, and two days later another
>> £25million when so many of our own essential services and charities are struggling to survive
>> on a day to day basis. If they can find that sort of money to
>> give away, they can obviously do more for our NHS, Hospices and homeless, let alone
>> anybody else who is struggling.
>>
I take your point generally, but you need to put that £57 million into context. It's peanuts. It would run the NHS for a little over four hours based on its annual budget of £120.5 billion
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Look after the £millions and the £billions look after themselves.
:}
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I was sort of thinking that Dog, it's a bit like me saying well I can't afford to save £1000 this month so there is no point in saving £5.
That's the way to ruin!
Pat
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There seems to be an impression here that 'money' is real. It isn't.
Just ask the DUP...
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Well if it's not real then we need to be using some of it to improve the services that have gone downhill in recent years.......
But there isn't any available for that, is there?
Pat
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>>But there isn't any available for that, is there?
The problem is that the Govt isn't really collecting the taxes that they are due. There are so many loopholes, allowances and schemes that let the multinationals get away with multi millions, even billions in tax.
The one I regularly see is a profitable company rendered loss making and therefore no tax due by management fees from a foreign owner. The foreign owner just happens to be a shell company set up by the shareholders in a tax haven.
Seeing that the company's entire revenues are generated here, it is madness and should be illegal.
Another thing I see is rebate schemes. Firms charge the Govt. a fee based on their invoice costs plus a margin, say 10%. They get their supplier to up the cost of the goods by 100% (and more) and present that invoice to the Govt. The then get a rebate cheque back from the supplier at the end of the year and this goes directly to the bottom line. Of course we are paying for that in our taxes. One company that does this has a Knight on their board!
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They are British Overseas Territories we have a responsibility to assist them, specifically in the matter of hurricane relief.
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We have the same obligations to help them as if it were part of the UK suffering a similar disaster.
And that's apart from the simple basic humanitarian view.
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Given that on a few of the islands they are British Citizens, refusing to provide aid is like telling the Isle of White it can whistle if it happened there
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>> refusing to provide aid is like telling the Isle of White it can whistle if it happened there
Is that any wear near the Isle of Wight
:o)
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I'm sure no-one objects to helping them at all, I certainly don't...I would just like a bit of balance and to be told 'Actually, we can find the money to fund the Police/NHS/ Schools and affordable housing after all'
Pat
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I think what's been got at is two points, the amounts aren't really big enough that you can equate the two areas of funding.
You could make those sort of comparisons for pretty much anything.
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Wasn't there a comment made somewhere that the UK was slow to respond to this disaster?
Ungrateful so and so's. Count themselves lucky we responded at all. Some other Countries haven't bothered, but don't seem to get slated for it.
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Yes, there was. Some MPs and a few on the islands. There's a big effort on now though. From what I've seen there's a ship and several transport aircraft and they are also helping the french out, who from what I've seen haven't got any large equipment there.
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I am sure I heard in the media that a ship is always pre positioned in the Caribean during the hurricane season. It can't be everywhere at once, it is a large area.
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Its not called the hurricane season for nothing, its going to happen, the only variable is the paths and the strength.
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>> Wasn't there a comment made somewhere that the UK was slow to respond to this
>> disaster?
Some of those comments came from British tourists on Cuba who were evacuated from their booked resorts to places off the hurricane's path. They say UK govt/tour operators left them to actually be evacuated while govts/tour companies from other countries (Canada/Argentina/Germany) provided repatriation flights ahead of storm.
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Holidays to the Caribbean are cheaper in hurricane season. :-)
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Make the territories independent and forget them
Last edited by: R.P. on Thu 14 Sep 17 at 09:27
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They might have oil under them. :-)
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>> Make the territories independent and forget them
Yea. If you needed or wanted them you would build them, the Chinese way. A nice territorial island, in the right place for the right gain, no people no support needed.
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>> Make the territories independent and forget them
>>
I don't think you can just make them independent, they have to want to be.
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If some of these territories of "Parent" Countries are Tax-Havens, why are they allowed to be? they should be paying a percentage back, similar to that which we do in the E.U.
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>> If some of these territories of "Parent" Countries are Tax-Havens, why are they allowed to
>> be? they should be paying a percentage back, similar to that which we do in
>> the E.U.
They are allowed internal political independent, so I would think tax rates come under that. We look after their foreign affairs, defence and HADR.
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Caribean Aid - Old Navy
