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Tax rat Fink humiliates PM

DAVID CAMERON’s longstanding vow to make “damn sure” that tax dodgers pay up was left a laughing stock yesterday after Tory treasurer Lord Fink admitted avoiding tax while claiming that “everyone does it.”

Various crackdown promises made by the PM in 2012,  2013, 2014 and last month were dealt the embarrassing blow after super-rich Tory donor Mr Fink confirmed accusations levelled by Labour’s Ed Miliband.

The opposition leader branded it a “defining moment” for Mr Cameron, and a snap ComRes poll yesterday suggested that the public agrees, with 49 per cent of those polled saying the row shows Mr Miliband on the side of ordinary people.

“It is now revealed that he appointed a treasurer of the Conservative Party who says everyone engages in tax avoidance,” Mr Miliband said.

“I don’t think that’s the view of most people. I don’t think that’s the view of the country.”

Only 24 hours earlier, City slicker Lord Fink, thought to have a £180 million fortune, had threatened Mr Miliband with legal action after being singled out at Prime Minister’s questions.

But the peer confirmed in an Evening Standard interview that he had parcelled up cash in tax-avoiding trusts.

The “vanilla” arrangement was perfectly normal, suggested the out-of-touch lord. “Everyone does tax avoidance.”

Mr Miliband challenged the Prime Minister: “The question David Cameron has to answer is does he agree with Lord Fink about this? Does he sanction his attitude or does he not?”

Explaining a Commons statement where he called the Tories “dodgy” he listed “several questionable” donors.

“One had to leave the House of Lords after breaking his promise to bring his tax affairs onshore and the firm owned by another donor was fined for its involvement in the Libor interest rate rigging scandal,” he said during a Q&A session at his old school.

“I think personally that’s pretty dodgy.”

The Prime Minister had boasted on Wednesday that his government was the toughest ever on tax-dodgers.

But he ducked the issue during a publicity stunt in Derby yesterday.

Lord Fink, who had suggested the “dodgy” tag was aimed at him personally, said sniffily that Mr Miliband was “willing to smear without getting his facts straight.”

But tax expert Richard Murphy said: “Since when was transferring shares into family trusts when in Switzerland vanilla tax avoidance?

“It isn’t, unless you live in a very rarified world — call it the world of the 0.1 per cent.

“Vanilla must imply normal. This is not. That doesn’t mean it is isn’t legal.”

The Fink scandal stirs up a new cauldron of sleaze amid continuing questions on how much ministers knew about systematic illegality at HSBC’s Swiss arm.

Downing Street flatly denied this week that anyone was aware of the issue, but an unearthed government press release and HMRC chief Lin Homer herself revealed ministers were told in 2010 of a list of thousands of tax-dodging British customers.

Months later Mr Cameron made HSBC chief Stephen Green a life peer before appointing him trade minister.
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