Harriet Harman was accused of 'hypocrisy' yesterday for attacking Tory plans to cut inheritance tax although her own family exploited loopholes to shelter their fortune from the levy.
The Labour deputy leader was revealed to be one of the beneficiaries of a trust set up in her father's will designed to reduce the amount of tax she would eventually pay on his estate.
Miss Harman has repeatedly railed against the Tory proposal to raise the inheritance threshold substantially, describing it as a 'tax cut for the wealthiest estates'.
But documents show how her father attempted to use complex tax avoidance loopholes to protect some of his fortune from the Inland Revenue.
Monday, May 03, 2010
'Hypocrite' Harman and her family's inheritance tax dodge
Heh, taxes are for the little people.
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4 comments:
Sorry, but I see no hypocrisy in taking advantage of every law on the books whilst simultaneously railing against it. This is a trap in out thinking. To condemn someone for obeying the law at all is wrong, but to do so on "hyprocrisy" is actually hypocritical.
Doc
Well anonymouse .... if you actually understood that holding oneself out as a moral authority while indulging in the sort of behaviour being discussed.....
Dunno Doc, seems pretty hypocritical to me, to rail agains a law you yourself are taking advantage of.
I rail against the law constantly, but untit it's changed, I have to obey it. As to the tax code, you think people who believe, for instance, that taking the earned income credit deduction should just give it back? And how many do you think would? Or justify why they should get it, but not others? Don't point to those obeying the law for hypocrisy when you have lawbreakers to point out first. How many take deductions that are illegal? How many conservatives just donate their money, not taking deductions? How many liberals? Are there laws you don't agree with you just stop obeying? Are any of them disadvantageous to you? Then you're not speaking from the same motivation. I disagree with taxes, but I pay them. I don't mind paying my share, but I think equal shares is the proper way to do it. But, do you see me forking over half my income because that would be the same as some rich guy? No, because we don't know the reality. You could just not take the deduction, but then again, why? Would you?
And to be honest with you, she probably doesn't do those taxes anyway, she just cashes the check, and has a professional do it, who's job it is to reduce her tax burden legally. Sorry, I disagree with your definition of hypocrite.
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