Monday 16 March 2009

Barclays in Tax Schemes Shock ! Furore !


Well, they all get there in the end. Back in October we gave the reason why Barclays was so keen to avoid taking the HMG shilling:

"there’s [a] price to pay for the Darling Dole: banks must forswear promoting and funding ‘tax schemes’. Long the bane of the HMRC, banks have had whole divisions beavering away, on behalf of themselves and numerous clients, corporate and private alike, at wheezes to deprive the government of tax revenues. And none more so than Barclays, whose clever (and entirely legal) tax schemes, particularly on the VAT front, are a significant business line. Some of their wheezes – that trick of avoiding VAT on new computer systems, eh, lads ? – have sent the HMRC into apoplexy."

Finally, Vince Cable – keep up at the back there, boy – has received material from a ‘whistle-blower’ (strange terminology because it’s most probable that nothing illegal or technically improper has happened) detailing some of Barclays’ cunning plans, and almost everyone else has piled in.

Barclays has some champions in odd places – well, John Varley does anyway, here in the Grauniad, which is also rather coy
(is this the best they can do ?) about what the HMG shilling may entail:

Allowing the government to take a stake in the bank is likely to come with conditions attached. These could include forcing it to … comply with restrictions on its activities (our emphasis)

But the FT’s excellent Alphaville blog pulls no punches, seemingly because they are miffed at Barclay’s PR efforts to thwart their reportage (and perhaps they didn't get as good a lunch as the Grauniad chaps). They give us

a little story about Barclays, a bank that in our view could now unravel at frightening speed …all the time it has to continue spinning the line that its balance sheet is somehow less toxic than its rivals … State-interference must be avoided at all costs since that would cost Barclays its lucrative tax avoidance business and also cost Messrs Varley and Diamond their jobs

What, honest John Varley ? Barclays unravelling at frightening speed ?
Say it ain't so !


ND

UPDATE: it's all getting a bit heavy.
But where is Pesto ? Usually so quick off the mark, with so many banking stories, over so many many months ! What are we to infer ?

UPDATE 2: Alarm over, Pesto has posted ! (but he wants to hug the bankers - and no mention of the big B ...)

UPDATE 3: whisper it softly but they do say that the Grauniad's scoop is still available somewhere on the interweb

17 comments:

Bill Quango MP said...

I love the giant wall sized Barclays Wealth advert that is above arrivals at nice airport.

"Barclays Wealth is committed to meeting the diverse needs of wealthy clients and those aspiring to become wealthier."

Eckersalld said...

Didn't they receive over $8 billion from AIG(AKA Congress)?

Hardly the sign of a healthy bank when they're relying on a company the US government regards as a Weeble(weebles wobble, but they don't fall down!).

Plus I'm sure I heard over a year back that Barcap were brushing plenty of nasties under the rug?

Anonymous said...

given the great job that the UK government has done with Lloyds and RBS why are people shocked that Barclays is desperate to avoid government money?

Letters From A Tory said...

No wonder Barclays were happier going to the Middle East for some extra capital rather than chat with Brown and Darling. It sounds like they have a lot to hide.

Anonymous said...

On the subject of Pesto, am I the only person in the world who has noticed that Marcus Agius (surely there can't be two) is on the board of the BBC and Chairman of Barclays? If this is not a conflict of interest for little Lord Peston and BBC business reporting, I don't know what is. Why has no hack pointed this out?

Newmania said...

I feel more and more than pouring moneuy into bad banks was bad idea and a new good bank would have been wiser

Anonymous said...

And Marcus Agius is married to a Rothschild and in with the family...

Anonymous said...

Dont we all want to pay less tax? Fair play to them........The rich will always get richer FACT.....

Anonymous said...

This is the biggest financial story of the day. Admittedly there is a conveyor belt of good stories. This is not on the BBC or SKY and besides the Guardian, FT alphaville and you guys the others don't seem to be pursuing it. Call me paranoid but this is fishy. Has Freshfields slapped gags on everyone or are they just too scared. Agius should not be allowed to be a board member of the BBC when the press has such an important democratic function to perform right now.

CityUnslicker said...

barclay's are in a world of pain. Their we are better than the other banks claptrap is just about going to do for them.

I am amazed at their share price currently.

Anonymous said...

and the Rothschilds were the ones who advised in the backroom over Barclays' takeover of the Lehman arm

Anonymous said...

agreed cityunslicker. everyone in the city knows what their balance sheet and business looks like. unfortunately the normal shareholder wants to believe things aren't as bad as they are and looks to Pesto and the mainstream press for guidance. I would think that Agius and Varley may come to rue their signed letter to the public saying everything was fine and dandy. If someone could prove that it wasn't at the time they wrote that letter then there surely would be grounds for criminal proceedings. Did UBS not recently paid a big fine for allegedly helping US citizens avoid tax? I wonder will the US authorities now focus on Barclays allegedly undertaking tax avoidance in their backyard? Another interesting rumour I heard was that Roger (the tax dodger) Jenkins was friends with Joe (biggest corporate loss in history) Casino sorry I mean Cassano. Fred the Shred is starting to look like a boyscout. Just joining the dots.

Nick Drew said...

anon @ 12:22 - yup, ve-ery interesting

they always used to say Pesto's stuff came from the Treasury, but, hmm, maybe not ...

@3:17 - If someone could prove that it wasn't at the time they wrote that letter ...

as I keep saying, it was making misleading statements to investors that put Jeff Skilling away - for 24 years and a $45 mm fine ! That's the way they do things on the Other Side

bankers don't tend to like the idea of serious gaol-time. It's the only language they understand

Steven_L said...

Can't we just pour water down their noses until they tell us the truth?

I bet that'd work!

Anonymous said...

anon @3:17, actually UBS was helping with tax **evasion**. Barclays is accused of tax avoidance. One is illegal and the other is carried out by anyone who is not mentally retarded or who doesn't just love paying more than they have to( which pretty much leaves just retarded ). Bit hypocritical of the Guardian though, they avoided more tax last year than BARCL did. I look forward to them campaigning against themselves!

Anonymous said...

aaaa片, 免費聊天, 咆哮小老鼠影片分享區, 金瓶梅影片, av女優王國, 78論壇, 女同聊天室, 熟女貼圖, 1069壞朋友論壇gay, 淫蕩少女總部, 日本情色派, 平水相逢, 黑澀會美眉無名, 網路小說免費看, 999東洋成人, 免費視訊聊天, 情色電影分享區, 9k躺伯虎聊天室, 傑克論壇, 日本女星杉本彩寫真, 自拍電影免費下載, a片論壇, 情色短片試看, 素人自拍寫真, 免費成人影音, 彩虹自拍, 小魔女貼影片, 自拍裸體寫真, 禿頭俱樂部, 環球av影音城, 學生色情聊天室, 視訊美女, 辣妹情色圖, 性感卡通美女圖片, 影音, 情色照片 做愛, hilive tv , 忘年之交聊天室, 制服美女, 性感辣妹, ut 女同聊天室, 淫蕩自拍, 處女貼圖貼片區, 聊天ukiss tw, 亞亞成人館, 777成人, 秋瓷炫裸體寫真, 淫蕩天使貼圖, 十八禁成人影音, 禁地論壇, 洪爺淫蕩自拍, 秘書自拍圖片,

做愛的漫畫圖片, 情色電影分享區, 做愛ㄉ影片, 丁字褲美女寫真, 色美眉, 自拍俱樂部首頁, 日本偷自拍圖片, 色情做愛影片, 情色貼圖區, 八國聯軍情色網, 免費線上a片, 淫蕩女孩自拍, 美國a片, 都都成人站, 色情自拍, 本土自拍照片, 熊貓貼圖區, 色情影片, 5278影片網, 脫星寫真圖片, 粉喵聊天室, 金瓶梅18, sex888影片分享區, 1007視訊, 雙贏論壇, 爆爆爽a片免費看, 天堂私服論壇, 情色電影下載, 成人短片, 麗的線上情色小遊戲, 情色動畫免費下載, 日本女優, 小說論壇, 777成人區, showlive影音聊天網, 聊天室尋夢園, 義大利女星寫真集, 韓國a片, 熟女人妻援交, 0204成人, 性感內衣模特兒, 影片, 情色卡通, 85cc免費影城85cc, 本土自拍照片, 成人漫畫區, 18禁, 情人節阿性,

Anonymous said...

情色電影, aio交友愛情館, 言情小說, 愛情小說, 色情A片, 情色論壇, 色情影片, 視訊聊天室, 免費視訊聊天, 免費視訊, 視訊美女, 視訊交友, ut聊天室, 視訊聊天, 免費視訊聊天室, a片下載, av片, A漫, av dvd, av成人網, 聊天室, 成人論壇, 本土自拍, 自拍, A片, 愛情公寓, 情色, 舊情人, 情色貼圖, 情色文學, 情色交友, 色情聊天室, 色情小說, 一葉情貼圖片區, 情色小說, 色情, 色情遊戲, 情色視訊, 情色電影, aio交友愛情館, 色情a片, 一夜情, 辣妹視訊, 視訊聊天室, 免費視訊聊天, 免費視訊, 視訊, 視訊美女, 美女視訊, 視訊交友, 視訊聊天, 免費視訊聊天室, 情人視訊網, 影音視訊聊天室, 視訊交友90739, 成人影片, 成人交友,

免費A片, 本土自拍, AV女優, 美女視訊, 情色交友, 免費AV, 色情網站, 辣妹視訊, 美女交友, 色情影片, 成人影片, 成人網站, A片,H漫, 18成人, 成人圖片, 成人漫畫, 情色網, 日本A片, 免費A片下載, 性愛, 成人交友, 嘟嘟成人網, 成人電影, 成人, 成人貼圖, 成人小說, 成人文章, 成人圖片區, 免費成人影片, 成人遊戲, 微風成人, 愛情公寓, 情色, 情色貼圖, 情色文學, 做愛, 色情聊天室, 色情小說, 一葉情貼圖片區, 情色小說, 色情, 寄情築園小遊戲, 色情遊戲, 情色視訊,