HMCR chief Dave Hartnett (you remember him, don’t you?), says that it is the public's duty not to pay
tradesmen cash in hand, otherwise said tradesmen may be tempted (look away if you are of a sensitive disposition) to 'evade paying
their fair share of tax.' (Shock, horror.)
And, if you do not act as tax collectors (unpaid), and they do "forget" to declare all their earnings, this might
result in even deeper government cuts to public services. (More shock and horror!!)
Now, would this be the same Dave Hartnett who, having allowed
himself to be bought, on over 100 occasions, incredibly expensive meals,
arranged multi-billion pound tax avoidance schemes with the Goldman Sachs and
Vodafone...who, by strange co-incidence, had picked up the tabs for these "fine dining experiences"?
And did this multi-billion pound drop in tax revenue not in some way result in the government having less money to spend?
Some people might be tempted to think that Dave was saying that there was one rule for him, and one rule for the rest of us.
But we all know that none of our (the public) servants would ever do anything like that...
