Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Fragmented courses, good point greek, and those were the type of degrees I had in mind.

The worst possible move was converting the technical colleges into Universities. Not everyone is suited for acedemia.

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I agree with your fairness point but when it comes to funding the afore mentioned non-degrees it has to stop.

You'll probably find after a few years bedding in that graduates can demand higher salaries to assist with paying off the loans and if my earlier point on taxation is correct I really don't see a problem with the policy. It could turn out to be good for reducing public spending.

No, I'm not advocating anything of the sort, mnamreh.

I'm just saying that anybody with any sense will look at legitimate avoidance methods and then consider their options.

Hilary.

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM


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A short while ago, many were decrying the sub prime lending.

Now it seems that a government is advocating an increase in unsupported personal debt once more.

For a short time the money lenders will gain again and then further catastrophes.

The policy stinks.

I think Fred said he had a hard time getting into Oxford ........ the traffic was so bad, so he doesn't shop there anymore.

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I could never understand why the 'apprentice' system was allowed to almost fade away completely.
Apprentice schemes were good for the employer, good for the employee and as the cost to the government was negligible (with some self funding) good for the government and tax payer.
Many friends from my youth took apprenticeships, and I found that they were equipped for life in the employment world far better that many so called degree qualified students of today.

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G
My memory of the demise of apprenticeships was the demand of unions for higher salaries for them and the excuse was they were being used as cheap labour against qualified workers.

I would say it was a lot more than an 'avoidance' of one's responsibilities, mnamreh. Personally, I'd describe it as a dereliction of duty on the part of the last government.

I don't have an issue with avoidance, be it tax or anything else, so long as it's above the law. If Green, Ashcroft and Cruddas are able to live their lives in foreign climes and avoid paying UK income tax, then good luck to them as far as I'm concerned.

People who whine about it are generally sad, bitter and twisted.

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Politically correctness isn't one of my strong points and you can rely upon me to be forthright, mnamreh.

PS. Any chance you could change your monicker? It's a real pain typing Herman backwards.

Stable,

I agree that was a lot to do with it. Although why the government could not have had apprenticeship minimum wages is beyond me.
And whilst I am on the minimum wage rule, it does not tend to apply to immigrants, legal or otherwise, and that has a lot to do with the excuse often given out by employers that, No one else will do the work.
What rubbish. If the minimum wage rule was enforced for all with very strong penalties for those who disobey the employment laws, there would be far more none immigrants employed. This would both cut immigration and at the same time go some way to cutting the dole queues.

Hilary,

Like you I have no trouble with tax avoidance. If there is a way of legally avoiding paying tax, it would be foolish to ignore it.
It would be fairly easy for the government to tighten up tax avoidance rules, the problem is, as the MPs expenses row proved, they are all snuffling from the same trough, so it would be like turkeys voting for Xmas.

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Can I call you Herman then? I can type that easily without having to think.

:o)

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Of course I'll continue to talk to you. Why wouldn't I?

I left the "m" off because I've got this vision of it standing for Munster. Can you just confirm there's nothing sticking out of your neck for my own peace of mind?

Hils, try thinking Munamrie - that's how I do it:-)

mnamreh: the type of behaviour which most publicly admit to finding abhorrent, but with which they concur and extol in private.

I think you've explained it perfectly! because I have my own business I pay myself a tiny salary, make the rest dividends which are split between my wife and myself, because she is a shareholder. It's not really tax avoidance - more sensible use of the tax system. There are other things I am able to do but only because I have money in the business and a good accountant - who wouldn't go near anything that was remotely dubious.

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