Tony Blair's tiny tax bill and the foul stench of fat-cat greed

Daily Mail
"For instance, one private company with a sole owner declared an income last year of £12  million, but paid just £315,000 in corporation tax, after writing off ‘administrative expenses’ of nearly £11  million. Shocking, is it not? The owner, a Mr Blair, apparently conducts his business operations across several continents through a network of companies, most of which escape having to publish accounts.Their activities are perfectly legal. But they create a stench in the nostrils to compete with any banker’s body odour.

This Mr Blair could not, surely, be any relation of the Tony Blair who said in a 1994 speech when campaigning to become Opposition leader: ‘We must tackle abuse of the tax system. For those who can employ the right accountants, [it] is a haven of scams, City deals and profits.

‘We should not make our tax rules a playground for revenue avoiders and tax abusers who pay little or nothing, while others pay more than their share’.

But, of course, this is indeed the very same People’s Tony, in his new guise as a jet-setting multi-millionaire. His company Windrush Ventures is a pace-setter for those who earn vast rewards while contributing an astonishingly small proportion to the Britain he once governed.Blair’s ascent to riches suggests that the Titanic’s captain, had he survived the sinking, might have enjoyed a lucrative second career advising on maritime safety."