HMRC is understood to be checking whether all the transactions Robinson has received are donations rather than payments for services. By a quirk of tax law, donations are tax-free. If, however, he was being paid to make a video or a speech, that would count as income and be taxed.
More a feature.
The Graun, with its incessant begging, has, of course, passed this test with flying colours…
Isn’t there something a little unsavoury about our tax authorities being used to target an ‘enemy of the State’?
He’s hardly Al Capone, after all…
Julia
The constant howl for more censorship seems to imply that the unsavoury is now in fashion.
It’s worth looking at Yaxley-Lennon’s mortgage fraud conviction too. This was when he faked payslips for an apprentice so that the apprentice could buy a property to do-up and flip. The property was sold at a profit and the mortgage repaid.
Since the investigation came after the repayment where did the motivation to investigate come from?
HMRC showing all the tenacity and ferociousness they don’t when Asian businessmen are fiddling VAT to the tune of billions.
Two Tier HMRC.
Didn’t Rachel Reeve accept a monetary benefit for a speech she made recently? Apart from it being preaching to the converted, was it a payment, or a donation? No doubt HMRC can advise?
@ Grist
I’ve no doubt the mendicant Graun is indeed using its begging bowl as tax avoidance. Rather than have to pay tax on subscriptions. If they went to a subscription model they’d lose most of they readers. Graun readers are soldiers in the Free Stuff Army. So on balance, they come out on top.
@JuliaM – I’m surprised some girl he snogged as a teenager hasn’t been dragged out to accuse him of rape.
Or maybe they are waiting to see how that tactic works with Russell Brand….
Marius – Remember the media went in for the kill on Russell Brand at around the same time it went omerta on Huw Edwards. (“Huw he? Never eard of im, lol” – British MSM)
We don’t hate journalists enough.
I see now the British authorit(ies/arians) are now promising to extradite Americans for posting (mis/disfavored) information on social media. Musk was mentioned as a prime offender. It will be entertaining if they try to extradite him. I was growing popcorn in the backyard for November, but it would also come in handy for this.
Extradite Americans for exercising right to free speech? That cannot possibly be true! Yet it is strangely credible they would threaten to do just that…
As I’ve pointed out on Twitter. We cannot even get English libel judgements enforced in the US. The Ehrenreich case (which I had an entirely trivial and forgettable part in). The idea that we’ll be able to extradite is insane.
Wasn’t Murphy receiving tax-free donations? Is he using the same tax planning as Tommy Robinson?
Starmer, Rowley and the DPP weirdo have zero knowledge about extradition law and practice and that rather suggests that not one of them is fit for purpose. But then, why should they care, it’s only taxpayers’ money they be wasting.
Maybe Britain will build Hadrian’s Firewall to keep out impure thoughts.