Tax Equity: Lessons In Disobedience From Our British Cousins.

by Michael Matheron · December 13, 2010

“At the same time as making massive cuts to public services, this [UK] govern-

ment is letting rich individuals and corporations avoid billions of pounds of

tax. Join UK Uncut’s Big Society Revenue & Customs (BSRC) and become part

of an army of citizen volunteers determined to make wealthy tax avoiders pay.”

A December 4th Guardian.co.UK.com article described UK Uncut‘s protests at high street stores owned by the wealthiest UK tax dodgers, like Topshop’s billionaire owner Sir Philip Green. This reminded me that in some places people get out into the streets and, with their voices and their bodies, “vote” against the inequitable, destabilizing, and divisive tax avoidance tactics of the super wealthy. And this is particularly important, as now, when hypocritical fiscal conservatives call for huge cuts in public programs that benefit, protect, or incentivize poor and middle class families.

“The unkindest cut[s] of all. . .” The UK tax debate described in the Guardian article differs from ours; UK Uncut decries enormously wealthy tax dodgers; our gripes relate to the top tax rates, in particular, the GnOP/White House “compromise” to extend the Bush II era tax rate reductions for the wealthiest Americans. We do, however, share the same motivation – protecting lower and middle income families from the unkindest cuts in public programs promised by cravenly austere fiscal conservatives, overwhelmingly Republican. They cannot, however, do it all themselves. Enter their BFF enablers, the liberal sell-outs in an apparently growing faction in the White House and the Blue Dog Democrats (although diminished substantially by 26 seats as of the beginning of the 112th Congress in January 2011, having lost 28 Blue Dogs in the November midterm elections).

“Neither a lender
nor a taxpayer be.”

“Then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood . . .” Suppose WE tried this? Up close and personal, 1960’s style, vocalize our lack of consent to the GnOP/White House tax deal? Imagine “pop-up protests” at Walmarts across the nation, producers of the Walmart family fortune (approx. $90B*). Visualize megaphone toting protesters invading billionaires’ hedge funds like John Paulson’s ($12.4B) Paulson Co., or Steve Cohen’s ($7.3B) SAC Capital (under investigation for alleged insider trading, by the way)? Picture this: at today’s Washington Redskins game the delightful sight of hundreds of hand-drawn signs politely requesting Redskins owner Daniel Snyder ($1.1B) to “Cough it up, Dan!” I think all know these folks can afford a 3-5% increase in their taxes if the Bush II tax rates are retired. And don’t be fooled by their palaver; there is NO tax rate they’d be pleased with. None. Period, paragraph. (Well, perhaps they’d accept a negative tax rate . . .)

Yet “nothing will come of nothing.” Protests. Sit ins. One can dream. This imminent week, as the House, Senate, and White House continue their backing-and-forthing about extending the Bush tax rates for the gilded class, perhaps, like a U.S. version of UK Uncut, some will be moved to make life more interesting than expected. Likely not. It is a bit late. But other battles loom, especially as of January 2011 when the House is turned over to the tender mercies of the GOP. So, I think it’s an almost sure bet that our eternal British cousins, and UK Uncut in particular, have shown us our not-too-distant future . . .

* Dollar figures are net worth and drawn from the 2010 “Forbes 400 Richest Americans.” Total net worth of the gilded group? $1.37 Trillion. And THAT is still “real money.”

P.S. Keep watching UK Uncut:

From their website:

Saturday December 18th is Pay Day, our next day of mass action. One week before Christmas, thousands of people across the country will be hitting the high streets to make sure tax dodgers pay.

Once again we will be targeting the multi-national and the multi-billionaire, Vodafone and Sir Philip Green. Both have been shaken up by the protests so far, but on December 18th they will face protests on a scale they could not have imagined just a few months ago. Vodafone and Arcadia will be targeted on every major high street in the UK. [Note: My link to Phillip Green.]

For more, click here.