Since the Paradise Papers busted open again the scale of offshore tax avoidance available to the super-rich but not to you and me, one thing has really troubled me. Why have so many shrugged their shoulders at this and seemed to imply that it is fine that the super-rich dodge their taxes using fancy schemes while you and me pay more to fund our schools and hospitals, or receive less well-funded services?
On Monday in Parliament Tory MP Peter Bone said tax avoidance was 'normal'. A Minister Lord Bates said tax avoidance, "continues to be part of the international financial system and we recognise and value it."
I'm sorry, but I'm not buying this. I don't think tax avoidance is normal, and I don't think we should value it. There are a small number of cases where offshore finance might be justified, but on the scale revealed by the Paradise Papers? Pull the other one.
To be clear, tax planning is what Parliament intends. Things like ISAs and pensions. That's fine. Tax avoidance is against what Parliament wants. Its bending the rules to unfairly and immorally dodge taxes. It may be legal, but in my view tax avoiders are not paying their dues to society and are leaving you and me to pick up the tab.
We all want good schools, hospitals, police and other public services for ourselves and our families. These need to be paid for. The vast majority of us that pay our taxes fairly should be proud of doing so. We should celebrate the tax payers, and criticise the tax avoiders.
One argument I've heard this week is, "If I could dodge taxes, I would. People are just jealous." I don't know about you, but I wouldn't deliberately dodge taxes even if I could. How could I look my friend who's undergoing cancer treatment or my nephew who's in school in the eye, knowing that I was shirking my responsibilities to pay for the services that we all rely on?
This isn't just the case in the UK. In poor countries around the world, governments often don't have enough money to pay for decent schools and hospitals for their people. At the same time that the UK is giving aid to help, we are also facilitating schemes around the world that help money to leave developing countries via tax havens. Developing countries may be losing almost as much to tax havens as they are gaining in aid.
This needs to end. We need to stop giving with one hand and taking with the other. Theresa May and Boris Johnson should step in, and make sure that our tax havens abide by the same rules as the rest of the UK. Who owns which companies and trusts there should be made publicly available. And UK companies should publish what taxes they pay in each country where they work. These steps would slow much of this bad behaviour from the rich and powerful.
On Monday night on Panorama a former senior Bermuda official said of normal people wanting to see what happens there, "you don't count". Its time for us all to stand up and say that decent hardworking taxpayers do count. We should be proud to pay our taxes fairly and honestly, and should insist on transparency from our government.