Stealing money is so easy when it's institutionalized like taxes are. I wish politicians had to go house-to-house with guns to collect taxes, rather than relying on agencies and automatic withholding.

 

Isn't that similar to what happened in mediaeval times??:rolleyes:

Isn't that similar to what happened in mediaeval times??:rolleyes:

 

Yes in a way, but that was Feudalism. So the King still had a band of thugs to go around collecting taxes. Plus you have to remember we didn't have that awesome little invention called the "gun" which became the great equalizer of power between the big and the small, and the government and the masses.

 

Of course, the British aren't so keen on guns strangely enough. I don't get it - you press a button and the other guy is dead, how cool is that? Now you've got to bludgeon your aggressor to death with a iron poker, that's far less humane.

Now you've got to bludgeon your aggressor to death with a iron poker, that's far less humane.

 

Sounds like the alleged "torture" in Iraq and Afghanistan.............................. :rolleyes:

MP 'claimed for church donation'

A Labour backbencher has apologised for submitting an expenses claim for a £5 donation he made at a church service.

 

Seriously...

 

 

...LOL

MP 'claimed for church donation'

A Labour backbencher has apologised for submitting an expenses claim for a £5 donation he made at a church service.

 

Seriously...

 

 

...LOL

 

Well he doesn't have a prayer of hanging onto his seat, then..................:rolleyes:

It will be interesting to see what happens Thursday with the local elections plus the euro elections, to see how many people vote against labour, and hopefully not for the racists BNP

This was all they ever had on the news while I was there. Actually made me feel better about my own screwed-up government hearing about politicians cleaning their moats with tax-payer money. :P

Chancellor's double dip on expenses

 

 

BRITISH Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling claimed parliamentary expenses for a flat he let to tenants while also claiming living allowances for his Downing Street home.

 

The disclosures come after three weeks of exposures by The Daily Telegraph of MPs' expenses, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown under growing pressure to deal with members of his cabinet who have made questionable claims.

 

Mr Brown has tried to draw the poison from the ongoing scandal over MPs' expenses as a remarkable poll of election voting intentions pushed Labour into third place for the first time in almost 25 years.

 

The Prime Minister has attempted to establish a clear way forward by proposing a code of conduct for MPs and insisting that he would not step aside, regardless of the scale of defeat for Labour in this week's local and European elections.

 

Though Mr Brown continued to insist that he would reject any cabinet attempt to persuade him to retire, one leading rebel said the weekend's polls confirmed his belief that either "Gordon goes or the Labour Party does".

 

The rebel said he had not come across a single voice in England and Wales supporting the Prime Minister, though Mr Brown continued to enjoy the support of Scottish MPs.

 

In July 2007, Mr Darling submitted a £1004 ($A2030) claim for a service charge on his south London flat 10 days after he became Chancellor. It covered the six-month period to the end of December 2007.

 

At the time, Mr Darling moved into Downing Street and began to claim second home allowances for his grace-and-favour apartments, meaning that costs relating to two of the Chancellor's homes were being met by the taxpayer.

 

That would appear to contravene parliamentary rules that allow MPs to claim on only one property at a time. He was also receiving rent for his flat from at least September 2007.

 

Mr Darling bought the flat — near The Oval cricket ground in south London for £226,000 in 2005 and went on to claim £2260 in stamp duty and £6000 on furnishings and carpets.

 

He is now thought to make at least £5000 a year from the rent after deducting mortgage costs. Mr Darling's expenses file also shows that he claimed for tax advice relating to the rental of the flat.

 

It has already been disclosed that Mr Darling is a "serial flipper" who has designated four properties as his second home in four years. He has also employed an accountant at taxpayers' expense to complete his self-assessment forms.

 

On Sunday, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, demanded that Mr Darling be sacked. "As Chancellor, Alistair Darling occupies a very special position in Government," he said. "He needs to enjoy the public's trust when it comes to issues of financial probity."

 

Mr Darling's fate was already uncertain with rumours that he might be the most high-profile victim of a reshuffle expected within days of this week's local and European elections.

 

http://www.theage.com.au

^So I guess he's unlikely to be Gordon's "darling" for much longer..................... :rolleyes:

He survived the reshuffle though.

^Well it won't keep him in office for much longer.;)

Yep.

 

They will have to call an election by May 5 2010, the 5th year point. Hopefully it will be a lot sooner.

Minister quits over her expenses

 

 

Treasury minister Kitty Ussher has quit the government after further questions were raised about her expenses. :rolleyes:

 

Ms Ussher took the step amid reports she flipped the designation of her second home shortly before selling it in 2007, avoiding capital gains tax.

 

Ms Ussher denied she did anything wrong and said she was stepping aside to prevent the government embarrassment. :dozey:

 

The move comes on the eve of the publication of all MPs' expenses on the Parliament website.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8106193.stm