We also pick one reader contribution as our Star Letter. This week’s award goes to:
Wheatley tells MPs FCA ‘not aware’ of HSBC tax breaches
Ok, so the FCA said is not its fault, because it didn’t know what was going on. Apparently banks were obliged to talk to the FCA about any skeletons in their cupboards early on.
Well, they are about as likely to do that as banks were to owning up about misselling PPI, or pretending they were giving advice to customers when they were providing service. So let’s not blame the FCA, because as EWS commented, they are very busy checking small firms’ paperwork and don’t have too much time to make sure big banks are not abusing MMR, misselling or arranging fiddles.
What can we do? Well from what I can see, HSBC have been caught offering schemes to customers to avoid paying British taxes. Tax Evasion – that’s illegal isn’t it?
It seems they have almost admitted this by saying “standards” at the Swiss arm should have been higher.
What concerns me is that HMRC was given documents in 2010 about HSBC’s possible role in tax evasion.
What did they do about it? Why did it take the BBC to bring this to light? Back in
2010 with recession hitting hard, the general public were suffering hard and
yet HSBC was doing this and taking money away from HMRC and therefore the tax payer.
If we cannot lock these people up for tax evasion and advising on /providing tax evasion schemes, then can we not fine HSBC heavily for this and fine the tax evading customers. Or, perhaps once again, the banks will be allowed not just to sail close to the wind, but go beyond it without cost.
DC. once again sick of Banks
