Michael Meacher MP

First it was Jimmy Carr, then it was Gary Barlow of Take That (a curiously appropriate name), then Chris Hoy (Olympic cyclist), and now footballers like Wayne Rooney.   The trouble with the media is all they’re interested in is wealth, celebrity and bling.   Tax avoidance on 6 or 7-figure pay deals makes a good story, complete with pictures, gawping and moralising (thank you, Cameron), but that’s missing the real point.   What it’s actually all about is big business multi-national corporations and ultra-rich individuals cheating taxpayers out of £42bn a year (HMRC’s figure) which is then recouped by cutting benefits (£81bn) for those on the lowest incomes plus cutting public spending (£81bn) for those using public services.   What it really amounts to is a gigantic swindle redistributing money on the grand scale from poor to rich. (more…)