Boris/James Dyson

Sending/sent texts to James Dyson.

Boris Johnson assured Sir James Dyson his employees would not have to pay extra tax if they came to the UK to make ventilators during the pandemic.

Sir James, whose firm is now based in Singapore, wrote to the Treasury to ask for no change in tax status for staff.

But in text messages sent in March 2020 - seen by the BBC - Sir James then went directly to the PM, with Mr Johnson replying: "I will fix it."

 

If more proof were needed...

Most of electorate: massive shrug.

 

Did it happen though? Did Johnson ‘Fix it’ Not defending it or anything did it happen and if so, will it be glossed over as a ‘necessity’ given the situation at that time?

 

In any time, with any PM, this should be a resigning issue.

I saw Dowden this morning doing the rounds saying it was absolutely fine given we were at war with the virus!

Big 24hrs for DePfeffel. His admission (by default) that he had an affair with Arcuri in public office and therefore lied previously. The Dyson lobbying tax dodge scandal. Pulling back from using the £2.6m taxpayer funded tory blue briefing room for daily media briefings, and relocating the person hired to do them at over £100k a year to do some other job.

But still.... the media full of "Boris saves football"... unbelievable.

 

Rightly or wrongly, I am no longer surprised by anything that this shower do any more. There are no consequences for their actions and Johnson appears to be the new Teflon Don.

 

We live in the post truth age.

 

Seems a non-story to me, this one (did they even make one single ventilator?). This is nothing compared to the PPE contracts.

 

Nothing will happen.
Until he ceases being profitable and useful to those with already obscene wealth he could publish a 66.65 million page manifesto with each page showing him shagging each individual citizens mother and he’d win by a landslide.
Kieth would probably go door knocking asking people to vote for Johnson which doesn’t help.

 

I'm not sure the issue is how many ventilators were made if any the bigger issue in this instance is that again someone has been allowed to bypass scrutiny and affect policy.

Some might say this is in response to the virus and to speed up the process of acquiring equipment needed at the time but I'm more inclined to think its more cronyism and favours for Tory/Brexit supporters.

The amount of money given away in similar circumstances only strengthens my thoughts on this.

 

So if we need ventilators pronto as a matter of life or death, and Dyson might be able to help with this, but he doesn't want his employees to be hit by extra tax for so helping, and he asks Boris to ensure that they won't be so taxed, and Boris says he'll sort it, how is that an automatic resigning issue?

 

Because its secretive lobbying that bypasses the rule of law for everyone else, from a pro brexit donor/lobbyist.

He could have approached the relevant governmental department, said we can make these ventilators but I'm aware there may be additional taxation for any workers who have to come to UK shores (a company that moved to avoid paying tax despite supporting brexit don't forget), can you please clarify the position.

If tax was then required to be paid, Dyson could have increased the price of the ventilators to cover that extra taxation and pay it on his employees behalf.

Thats very different to texting the PM of the country for a favour. Whether it went ahead or didn't is absolutely irrelevant, the intent was there and dePfeffel said it was "fixed"

Resigning issue.

 

If these people were coming over here to help with the covid fight, why should they pay extra taxes, its the employees that would be benefiting not James dyson, and at the time the situation was desperate, everything now is hindsight, i,m a Labour supporter by the way, well i was until starmer took over...

 

Well I agree that whether it went ahead or not is irrelevant.

Seems to me that there was a problem (not a favour required) that needed fixing as speedily as possible, so you go to the head honcho in a crisis like that.

You don't have it stuck in a government mandarin's in-tray for a few weeks.

Anyway, if I was Boris I'd have done the same.

 

Thats not how government works. There is guidance in place to stop such things happening and for conversations to be in the public domain. Sadly, more and more, conversations are going offline and into private media (remember Gove was chastised several times for using private e-mails instead of the state systems).

If they'd come out and said there was a policy to stop additional taxation being paid for anyone coming to the Uk to assist with the covid effort, I don't think many would have issue with that. Though the irony is any British based business wouldn't have that issue as workers were resident and paying PAYE already.

The issue is the tory donor has a line of communication he shouldn't have, let alone use and he would have benefitted from it where as others wouldn't.

We've heard many stories of the two lane approval during covid. One for donors, ministers and lobbyists, one for businesses trying to help that were ignored.

And this incident shows it goes to the top.

 

Who says it’s a resigning issue.
More binary nonsense.

in an ideal world, giving your girlfriend >£120k of government funds is a resigning issue.
Not declaring you have a 15% stake in a company that your department has awarded contracts to, is a resigning issue
A chancellor taking calls from an ex PM to give out contracts is a resigning issue.
Heaps of others along similar lines.

In the grand scheme of things, James Dyson’s texts are inconsequential- but they’re hardly a sign of a healthy government relationship.

 

It wasn't a problem was it? If you work in this Country you pay the tax of that Country regardless of the situation?

People can't just pick and choose because they have a direct line to the Prime Minister.

What makes it even more of a joke is the fact the bloke asking for this moved his business away from the UK in order to avoid this and now wants to have it both ways.

 

Why should people pay taxes in the U.K. for money earned in the U.K.?

Im not sure - other than I’ve paid tax for >40 years now and it just seems that it’s how the law works.

 

This is just one of a vast number of things he and his party will get away with. Because there is no opposition.

 

The opposition have been constantly highlighting this amongst other things unless you mean no opposition that can really change much in the house after handing them an 80 seat majority?

 

It’s 48 hours since Kieth refused to join a cross party inquiry into Johnson’s persistent failure to be honest and he’s repeatedly supported any conservative accused of breaking the ministerial code (but not snp) but you go off.
I’m absolutely certain that if there were a vote tomorrow not even he would be voting Labour.