Tuesday 5th April

I am amazed at the lengths to which the rich will go to not only hide their wealth but to increase it.  As a younger man I always thought that a million pounds would be enough for anyone; it seemed (and still does) a huge sum of money.  Inflation, especially of house prices has meant that many people now find themselves with (possibly unrealisable) assets in excess of that magical figure, and if I had hung on to my London house for a few more years it would have doubled the price I got for it.  However, gaining a huge sum of money has never been a goal of mine.  Like most people I like being comfortable and not having to worry about going out for a meal or having to buy the occasional expensive purchase.  So what is it that drives these multi-millionaires into not only acquiring more and more, but to find ever more complex ways of hiding it from the taxman of whichever country they live in?   Greed, my friends; I am afraid it is that vilest of human sins, greed.

Today (Monday) we learn from a whistle-blower who has released tens of thousands of documents from a Panamanian based Financial Group showing billions of dollars deposited, hidden and transferred (in other words – laundered) by various companies and individuals across the World.  Implicated our Putin and the Saudi’s, several heads of Government, many Tory donors, six members of the House of Lords and three Conservative ex-M.P.s.  Also David Cameron’s father has used this company/bank/or whatever it calls itself in the recent past.  And while no illegality has so far been discovered the only reason for using such Foreign or Off-shore banks is to hide your money from prying eyes, usually the Government of your own country, the press and poorer people who have no choice but to pay taxes on the money they earn.  The story is still unfolding and we may find even more details as the mass of documents is sifted.  And this bank is only one of many thousands sprinkled around the globe in Territories that are happy to host them.  I can only imagine the sums involved, but what is clear is that if ‘honest’ and ‘ethical’ declarations of tax had been made on these assets then much of the poverty around the world could be alleviated.

The problem of rising inequality in a globally connected world is huge and can only be tackled by Politicians of all countries insisting that banks share all financial transactions so that tax evasion can truly be tackled.  And the penalties for laundering money must be much harsher than the paltry fines at present.  Or we can only hope for another huge Financial Crisis to bring the system to its knees, although as we learnt from the last one brought about by greed again it will be the poor who ultimately pay for the sins of the rich.