Bishop Hill Parliamentary wrecking balls
Jan 23, 2014 Climate: Parliament The Public Accounts Committee are currently looking at the effect of infrastructure investment on consumer bills, covering both water and energy. The committee yesterday heard from Dr John McElroy, Director of Policy & Public Affairs, RWE/npower. His contribution was marred by the antics of the chairman, Margaret Hodge who completely dominated proceedings, and whose obsession with the company's tax arrangements suggests that she wants consumers to be paying higher bills not lower ones. When he could get a word in edgeways McElroy had some interesting things to say, not least his certainty that government policy is driving investment to the highest-cost forms of energy and there is absolutely no money to be made in gas generation right now. The political classes are wrecking the energy market good and proper.
Start watching at about 15:02 to avoid the worst of Hodge's grandstanding.
Direct link here.
Reader Comments (6)
Considering the Tax arrangements of the Family Hodge
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businesslatestnews/9668396/Margaret-Hodges-family-company-pays-just-0.01pc-tax-on-2.1bn-of-business-generated-in-the-UK.html
The Labour MP has been one of the fiercest critics of tax avoidance by companies such as Starbucks, Google and Amazon. However, she is likely to face questions over the limited tax paid by Stemcor, the steel trading company in which she owns shares and which was founded by her father and is run by her brother.
Analysis of Stemcor’s latest accounts show that the business paid tax of just £163,000 on revenues of more than £2.1bn in 2011. However. it is not known whether the company – which made profits of £65m – used similar controversial tax avoidance measures criticised in the past by Mrs Hodge.
and
http://order-order.com/2012/11/21/margaret-hodges-multi-million-pound-stemcor-trusts/
What’s more Stemcor confirmed yesterday that this figure “excludes shares held in trust or in her children’s names”. The company share register shows that Hodge holds several million pounds worth of shareholdings in trusts, including for members of her family. As Polly Toynbee helpfully explains, this is a clever way of minimising future inheritance tax liability:
“The big sell is trusts, special ones devised for this company’s clients, guaranteed to protect almost all your wealth from inheritance tax. They are right, it can be done easily. Put all moveables and all cash and investments into a discretionary trust, and it passes to your heirs without tax as soon as you die, not even waiting for probate. It counts as a gift so the beneficiaries need pay no tax either.”
I think that most of us had already realised that it is government driving up prices, and that it is deliberate. That the energy and water companies take advantage is what companies do. Give any of them a blank cheque and they will cash it, it is what companies do!
Not for nothing is she known as Hodge the dodge.
Hodge
Just seems to be against companies making profits. As for tax avoidance, it isn't illegal and the EU facilitates it, and it should come as no surprise that Germany might benefit from those arrangements. What do they expect when German runs Europe.
Hodge wants her moment in the news. That's what happens when TV camera allowed into Parliament.
Parliamentary wrecking balls.
Just reading the header I had a terrible mental picture of scantily clad lords Deben and Patten sitting astride two opposing wrecking balls like a pair of giant clackers.
nb Clackers were a girl's toy when I was a child, consisting of two hard balls on either end of a string. By holding the middle of the string and jiggling, the balls could be made to 'clack' together. Inventive use could be made of them as an impromptue bolas against any boys who dared to question the sense of the craze. So pointless, noisy and capable of great damage... just like Deben and Patten.
The BBC actually has an article in the business section titled "Treasury anger over Margaret Hodge 'grandstanding'." It has drawn quite a lot of comments.