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This man's actions stink to high heaven.... he promised to waive tax on the Haiti fund single *Everybody hurts* Which he did.
But the b******d has only clawed it back from the Government Department responsible for allocating and providing aid for other causes…….
This report from The Independant
London. The Treasury is to claw back hundreds of thousands of pounds from overseas aid money despite Gordon Brown's promise to waive tax on a charity record for Haiti's earthquake victims, The Independent reported. After the quake on the Caribbean nation three months ago, which killed an estimated 230,000 people, the pop mogul Simon Cowell and 21 celebrities produced a version of REM's song "Everybody Hurts" to raise disaster relief funds.
The Prime Minister announced that he had decided VAT would be waived on the single.
But to the fury of aid officials at the Department for International Development, the Treasury has warned them that they will effectively be sent a bill for the Exchequer's lost revenue, The Independent has learnt – the equivalent of the "lost" VAT will be deducted from its budget.
Read the article here
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n215168
I make no apologies for putting this on Chat and General... I really am livid!
Love
Daff xxxxx
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Daff, are you surprised? I don't trust ANY politician at the moment and they seem to think they are immune from any backlash prompted by their deeds.
I have often stated on here that I don't like living in the UK and if I could afford to go elsewhere I would. It's not just the government it's the social services, justice system and local government. I know many other countries have corrupt systems but the UK just astounds me at times as this is tantamount to corruption through deception.
It's not any charity's fault that the UK has over committed it's cash reserves, well deficits as they are now. I guess we will see tax being clawed back whichever way they can
Sue xx
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No, not surprised Sue.... but I did think he would leave the fund alone.... I believed him for once, even though I knew it was probably an electioneering gambit...... but what the heck if vulnerable people benefit?
So I am doubly cross..... he has thrown egg on the faces of everyone who purchased that record.... and also those who will be denied vital funding elsewhere.
In Muffy's words Pffffft
Love
Daff xxx
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From the Guardian.
Downing Street today denied the government would be reclaiming thousands of pounds of waived VAT, which Gordon Brown pledged to help the survivors of the Haiti earthquake.
The treasury responded to newspaper claims that the Department for International Development will have its budget slashed to recover the lost tax.
A Downing Street statement said: "The story is wrong. No money raised for Haiti will be deducted from other development projects or the DfID budget.
"There will therefore be no impact at all on other areas of DfID's work or budget."
The DfID will initially cover the cost of the tax but will be reimbursed at the end of the financial year.
The Independent said Brown had misled the public over the Haiti music single, which sold 600,000 copies.
But a spokesperson for the DfID insisted that tax was a matter for the Treasury alone. Downing St said it expected the paper to apologise for the story tomorrow.
Simon Cowell organised an all-star cast to cover the REM song Everybody Hurts to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, in which an estimated 320,000 people died.
At the time, Gordon Brown announced the single would be exempt from the 17.5% VAT . It went straight to number one, selling more than 450,000 copies in the first week, and the money raised was split between the DfID and the Sun's Helping Haiti campaign.
Cheryl Cole, Robbie Williams, Leona Lewis and Kylie Minogue were among the singers on the track, some of whom flew to Haiti.
Edward Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, told the Independent: "This sleight of hand is a step too far. People who bought this CD in good faith will be disgusted to find out what the prime minister presented as an act of generosity was little more than the daylight robbery of funds intended to help some of the poorest people in the world.
"Gordon Brown must come clean on what aid programmes have suffered in order to fund this hollow gesture."
Max Lawson, Oxfam head of development finance, said: "It will be extremely disappointing if Malawi or Mozambique end up paying for the public's generosity by picking up Haiti's VAT bill."
This week, governments and international organisations pledged more than £6.5bn to rebuild Haiti, after millions are still homeless after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
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Harrumph..... am now slightly appeased, but will watch this space.... I have no trust left in that man at all..... must pop over to General.... need to balance the thread.... so I'll nick your Guardian thing.... that didn't come up when I googled through the other papers, though... is it a new report? Will go and look again.
He is responsible for no flak jackets, reduced defence budgets, and loads of other bad stuff, though.... so I still don't like him.....
Love
Daff xxxx
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