Tax breaks....

Whilst massive cuts are being forecast for every aspect of the economy in Scotland with the prospect of 20%-25% job losses, then you have to say "WTF?" to the latest political stunt.

Scottish sports minister Shona Robison is to meet senior Westminster politicians in an attempt to gain a tax exemption for Commonwealth Games competitors.
[...]
“I’m going to ask for an exemption for the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and Ryder Cup the same year, along with a number of events.

“A number of English sporting events are exempted, but none of the major sporting events in Scotland.

“We expect parity for major international sporting events.”

Get a grip, FFS.

Millionaires fly in and earn vast sums of money fora few hours work, and our Government wants to exempt them from tax.  Not mitigate their tax.  Not limit their tax liability to income earned in the UK.

No, let's make it all tax free.

This all smacks of NuLab's idolisation of Hedge Fund managers and other obscenely rich ponces and the subsequent tilting of tax laws in their favour.

A simple question: would you rather have a home help for your parents, or watch a millionaire hit a golf ball around for a vast tax-free lump sum?

Now ask: are these guys paying tax anywhere?  The answer is almost certainly that they are not paying very much tax anywhere. The sponsorship will have been sold to a BVI company, where vast sums roll up tax-free, and by judiciously moving around the world, nowhere - bar tax-free Monaco - will be home.  For tax purposes.

And our pensioners die unable to afford their heating bills......