Friday 17 November 2017

Serious Questions To Answer

Tom Peck writes:

Labour has said Theresa May’s husband Philip has “serious questions to answer” about his firm’s links to possible tax avoidance highlighted in the Paradise Papers. Private Eye magazine has seen emails that suggest Mr May’s company, Capital Group, used an offshore law firm called Appleby to arrange investments for clients in tax havens. The documents suggest Capital Group has funds registered in the Cayman Islands, which were used to investment in a South American agriculture company called El Tejar.

Labour's Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, Jon Trickett, said: “There are some serious questions for Philip May to answer about his firm's use of tax havens, whether he had any knowledge of it and if he thinks this is an acceptable way to do business. “Labour has previously asked Theresa May what her government plans to do to clamp down on the tax havens where money is squirrelled away to avoid paying taxes for public services in this country. “When it comes to paying tax, there is one rule for the super-rich and another for the rest of us and, in refusing to act, the Prime Minister appears to condone this.”

A Number 10 spokesperson said that Mr May works in “retirement solutions” not offshore investments. Neither he nor Theresa May have any personal interests in offshore investments. “Neither the prime minister nor Mr May have any direct offshore investments,” her spokesperson said last week. “Their investments have been declared to the Cabinet Office and are held in a blind trust.” Capital Group has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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