
Peter Vaines …& George Osborne get serious about tax evasion
Watching Mr Osborne’s Budget speech last week was an uplifting experience. Britain was walking tall, the envy of the world, had more employment than any country ever in the history of the world…and so on. Some good jokes too. Mr Milliband was keen to put the record straight. In fact, the situation is utterly bleak and we are on the edge of complete catastrophe—unless of course we vote for him. The truth? Goodness knows. No doubt somewhere in between but I have to say that Mr Osborne’s figures did sound rather persuasive. It is a pity that it was so lacking in substance—but with an election only a few weeks away, I suppose that is no surprise.
Most of the measures announced by Mr Osborne were either a repetition of things which he has announced before, or measures which are either deferred or merely under consideration; there was comparatively little relating to the coming year.
The Diverted Profits Tax looks important and we should receive some details about that soon, as it comes into