Sir, – We are reminded once again of the contrast between the lives of a rich elite and the rest of humanity. At the first hint of threats to corporate finance, ordinary citizens are asked to bail-out banks and absorb their debts at the cost of their own social services. They have to sit back and watch as repeated austerity budgets accelerate the rise in income inequality between rich and poor.
Now to add insult to injury, they see how this protected elite make use of sophisticated loopholes, encouraged and facilitated by banks and exclusive legal firms, to squirrel away money which should have been paid in taxes.
The increasing corrosive influence of corporate finance on international tax law has resulted in labyrinthine channels through which money can be siphoned to avoid tax and, in parallel, has also seen increasing pressure on keeping social services in the public sphere.
The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade agreement will cement even further the leverage corporate interests will have over public life and would provide further cover for this kind of behaviour. The idea, often trumpeted by right-wing politicians, that tax cuts for the rich act as a vehicle for investment and job creation can only be seen as farcical in light of these revelations.
Local economies depend more on how ordinary citizens spend their money, and not on the rich, and it is about time this was reflected in how economies are set up. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Blackrock,
Cork.
Sir, – Frank Flannery's inability to explain documents pertaining to a £250,000 deposit on a house is perfectly understandable ("Frank Flannery unable to explain documents on £250,000 deposit", April 4th). Often I have asked myself, now where did I put the keys to my Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita? Or wandered upstairs only to discover the app on my platinum smartphone is downstairs?
Let he who is without £250,000 cast the first stone. – Yours, etc,
DIANA WILSON,
Phibsboro,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – The Panama Canal is a shortcut between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The recently leaked documents indicate to the world that there’s a shortcut for the rich and powerful who want to hide their money.
We’re hardly surprised, are we? – Yours, etc,
DAMIEN CARROLL,
Kingswood,
Dublin 24.
Sir, – Interesting to note that the leaked Panama papers revealed that one of Vladimir Putin’s closest friends, Sergei Roldugin, is indicated in multiple transactions in the Mossack Fonseca files, many of them apparently linked to his best pal. But no, he is not a banker – he’s a professional cellist. A case of a giant fiddle, I guess. – Yours, etc,
MARK LAWLER,
Kilmainham,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – Does anyone remember the good old days when money used to just “rest” in an account? Now it works very hard indeed, whizzing around the globe, out of sight of the tax authorities. – Yours, etc,
ANNE BYRNE,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – The words of the first World War ditty still ring true: “It’s the same the whole world over, it’s the poor wot gets the blame, it’s the rich wot gets the gravy, ain’t it all the bleeding same”. – Yours, etc,
CORMAC MEEHAN,
Bundoran,
Co Donegal.