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So why does Ritchie do it?

Early in the morning, on a train to a London, I ask myself why I do this. I am not alone in doing so. It is a question I am asked, often, by friends, those who disagree with the conclusions I reach in my work, academics (there is at least one study of the tax justice movement going on right now) and journalists.

Because he gets paid £50k a year plus to do it.

Which is a pretty good semi-retirement for a small business accountant from Wandsworth.

What I am in favour of is the responsible allocation and use of wealth in the interests of all in a society.

Plus, of course, the great joy that comes from telling everyone else how they ought to act and behave.

13 thoughts on “So why does Ritchie do it?”

  1. Whilst living in the most expensive house in his post code (more than twice as expensive as 75% of his neighbours), and one of the most expensive in his town.

    But it is for him and his wife to choose, not anyone else. After all, he is a tax accountant and has brought great good to society & so is too important to live in a £150,000 house, and too important to be told what to do.

    Meanwhile, the rest of us must make changes for the sake of his equality agenda.

  2. He does it because he’s a fucking hero of the people and his name will one day be immortalised, and they will name great universities and roads and, er, sports stadiums after him, and there’ll be a 40ft statue of the fat creep in Wandsworth, until they have a show trial, shoot the fucker and erase him from history.

    (Is this cached, we may need it to be?)

  3. One thing I’m struck by when I read Ritchies posts, is his staggering level of self-importance and utter lack of interest in normal people. He writes, with great frequency, about institutions and governments, but actual people? No, not so much.

    TBH honest, his attitude kinda reminds me of me when I was a uber-pretentious 17 yr old student and DEFINITELY knew that, deep down, I was right about everything and should definitely be in charge of things.

  4. He’s got himself a nice little niche.

    Every time there is a story on tax and the media needs a left winger to go to, there’s just him. He has a monopoly.

    We should be thankful to have him. Imagine if he were replaced (as spokesperson on tax for the left) by someone who was charming and (dare I say it) fit. imagine a Nigella-type (maybe a dreamy Prof Brian Cox for the ladies) taking over his perch – mulling over a wealth tax whilst licking her chocolate-soaked fingers.

  5. I recently had a little argument with the Murphmeister, after he blocked my posts on his site. I challenged him on two counts.

    Firstly, that he was being total hypocrite, for funnelling his fees for working for the TJN through his LLP – allowing him to profit share with his wife, pay out as dividends and not pay NICs etc.

    Secondly, because there is a good chance he is part of the 1% he so despises – hence the need for the tax avoidance.

    We know he is getting 35k from JRCT, but it looks like he got pushed out of the TJN board because he was jamming his money-funnel in there as well, by pushing TJN work the way of TRUK.

    Additionally, we know he is paid by the TUC, Unite, PCS and a few others to boot, plus revenues from his media work.

    He’s certainly a 40p rate payer. With his wife included, the family income will be at least 3 times median UK income, and potentially a lot more.

    Unsurprisingly, when I took him to task on the matter he went very silent.

  6. Yes, the basic errors and wild swings of opinion are one thing, but I think the overwhelming smugness and hypocrisy are even worse.

  7. @ Ben

    Great resource – thanks. Enjoy reading your blog as well btw.

    Assuming he is only earning money from the various companies/partnerships he is in, it looks like most of the money comes from TRUK, with some more from Finance for the Future and potentially more still from the Fair Tax Campaign which is yet to submit accounts.

    I won’t put numbers out here, but Murphy is comfortably in the top 5% of earners, and might even just creep into the top 1%. With his wife, they are comfortably in the top 1%.

    The horrible little hypocrite.

  8. Bloke in Costa Rica

    it’s hard to think of a figure in public life today whose intellectual accomplishments are so wildly at variance with his assessment of them. As for why he does it, other than the wonga: that’s not hard to explain. Nasty little Uriah Heeps like him are always prowling around, perpetually semi-tumescent with envy and Tartuffery. He just happens to have inveigled himself onto the Rolodexes of a few dim-bulb establishment journos, who are too lazy or two thick (or both) to understand how scant his qualifications are.

  9. TBH honest, his attitude kinda reminds me of me when I was a uber-pretentious 17 yr old student and DEFINITELY knew that, deep down, I was right about everything and should definitely be in charge of things.

    So you’re basically saying he hasn’t grown up. That kind of explains many things. He needs help.

  10. “We should be thankful to have him. Imagine if he were replaced (as spokesperson on tax for the left) by someone who was charming and (dare I say it) fit. imagine a Nigella-type (maybe a dreamy Prof Brian Cox for the ladies) taking over his perch – mulling over a wealth tax whilst licking her chocolate-soaked fingers.”

    Quite a scary thought to hold in one’s head on a Friday afternoon.

  11. On that thread Ritchie complains that he passed the 11+ and went to grammar school but his brother didn’t. I posted a comment to ask him if his children go to a comprehensive. He deleted my comment!

    According to Wikipedia, there is only one comprehensive in Downham Market, and it is currently in ‘special measures’ so I can’t believe it is popular with the local accountants and doctors.

    What’s the betting Ritchie’s kids go to a private school or possibly an out of town church school? Maybe his hypocrisy extends beyond tax.

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