Taking Stock: Actors and tax – never be-twain shall meet

Taking Stock: Actors and tax - never be-twain shall meet

Acting couple Emma Thompson and Greg Wise have waded into HSBC's tax furore

IT WAS Albert Einstein who famously noted that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

TS is happy to defer to Big Al’s [pictured] better judgment on such matters, and it’s with that in mind that we were rather puzzled by the words of acting couple Emma Thompson and Greg Wise in the wake of the tax scandal embattling HSBC and its Swiss private bank.

“I want to stop paying tax, until everyone pays tax,” Wise told the Evening Standard. “I have actively loved paying tax, because I am a profound fucking socialist and I believe we are all in it together. But I am disgusted with HMRC. I am disgusted with HSBC. And I’m not paying a penny more until those evil bastards go to prison.”

While TS has sympathy for the pair’s righteous fury, we respectfully suggest that tactic is unlikely to help anyone or anything on any level.

In fact, if we wanted to improve the tax situation and the culture in the City, that policy could only lead to collective insanity.

Just ask Albert.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

Professional Services Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

Accounting Firms Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

Making Tax Digital Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource