A Horseradish
Wednesday 11th September 2013 2:41pm [Edited]
8,475 posts
Quote: Tursiops @ September 11 2013, 9:40 AM BST
Not sure about that; multinationals tend to bend rather than break laws, hence the fortunes they spend on lawyers. (I am saying nothing about morality here.)
Whereas in the 60s and 70s certainly, and presumably before, and to a degree after, corruption of public officials was rife, which is much rarer now.
The tax avoidance - not evasion - of 99 companies in the FTSE 100 is not formally a crime in Britain. That's true. Britain, though, is not a unique authority on definitions of crime. Anyone can define crime. I would define significant tax avoidance as a crime. It can kill very many people who are starved of vital services.
Distinctions can seem arbitrary. I can't understand how 600 of 650 MPs were "sinners" for claiming excessive expenses but four or five were apparently so much worse than the others that they were imprisoned. But I don't want to prolong it. I appreciate your comments - thanks - and this is mainly the courtesy of a reply.