Offer Received on Fairey Huntsman

[longjohnsilver]

Oi! I got that too and I thought I had bagseyed first dibs with Annie!

Too late, she's vibrating on my lap as I type.

 

[oldgit]

Technofear......

"ultrasonic antifouling system."

Argh...all this new fangled modern stuff.

Here at Oldgit Technical Research Operations Headquarters we are still debating as to wether or not the investment should be found to update the lodestone to a compass and some of the vellum Mapi Mundi charts could do with some sellotape and all.

 

[25931]

I thought I'd share with the forum my good fortune in receiving an offer on my Fairey Huntsman. I'd packed the boat away for the winter not expecting any interest so imagine my surprise when I received the following Email:



This has restored my faith in the boat buying public, that there are still purchasers out there who will offer a decent price for a boat without such unnecessary time wasting activities such as Surveys, Sea Trials or even viewing the boat!
The only reservation I have is that Mr Donald George has sent his Email from a yahoo account belonging to Donald Johnson, however I sure there is an innocent explanation for this.
I now look forward to forwarding my personal bank details to Mr George / Johnson and await payment. If he wishes to send me a cheque for more than the amount of the boat, I'd be only too happy to refund the difference to him while watching my pride and joy sailing off into the distance.

P.S. Having worked in Holland I was very impressed with the level of English that is spoken by the average Dutch person. I'm therefore surprised that Mr George / Johnson's English isn't a little better!

As an estate agent I receive a lot of this sort of thing. The latest was a chap in Paris who wanted us to go there for "a face to face meeting" when there would probably have been cash literally on the table.

 

[oldgit]

Strictly cash ?

Would that merely be drug money or the profits from ladies of negotiable affection ?

 

[Firefly625]

As an estate agent I receive a lot of this sort of thing. The latest was a chap in Paris who wanted us to go there for "a face to face meeting" when there would probably have been cash literally on the table.

I thought it was just Costa del crime, sorry Sol where you can still buy large properties for cash no questions asked..

 

[oldgit]

I thought it was just Costa del crime, sorry Sol where you can still buy large properties for cash no questions asked..

You forgot to mention Greece and Italy where this sort of thing is compulsory and come to think of it,where the cost of a years mooring is always preferable in cash and can result in an extra special bit of "discount".
Actually a certain French marina also comes to mind.
Now remind me which countries are deep in the poo because nobody pays taxes...it seems to have slipped my memory !

 

[Crabman]

I thought I'd share with the forum my good fortune in receiving an offer on my Fairey Huntsman. I'd packed the boat away for the winter not expecting any interest so imagine my surprise when I received the following Email:



This has restored my faith in the boat buying public, that there are still purchasers out there who will offer a decent price for a boat without such unnecessary time wasting activities such as Surveys, Sea Trials or even viewing the boat!
The only reservation I have is that Mr Donald George has sent his Email from a yahoo account belonging to Donald Johnson, however I sure there is an innocent explanation for this.
I now look forward to forwarding my personal bank details to Mr George / Johnson and await payment. If he wishes to send me a cheque for more than the amount of the boat, I'd be only too happy to refund the difference to him while watching my pride and joy sailing off into the distance.

P.S. Having worked in Holland I was very impressed with the level of English that is spoken by the average Dutch person. I'm therefore surprised that Mr George / Johnson's English isn't a little better!

Nar that's Ronald Mc Donald .I have heard of him somewhere, now let me think

 

[vas]

You forgot to mention Greece and Italy where this sort of thing is compulsory and come to think of it,where the cost of a years mooring is always preferable in cash and can result in an extra special bit of "discount".
Actually a certain French marina also comes to mind.
Now remind me which countries are deep in the poo because nobody pays taxes...it seems to have slipped my memory !

quite right as far as Greece is concerned, but wouldn't buy a villa with cash if I were you... That's stopped a long time ago and taxmen are on them for sometime now and have come up with some interesting discoveries. I'm not saying that they actually got the right taxes back in the box, but they are working on it (if the corrupted politicians and ever so corrupted heads of tax offices let them finish that is another story...)

There's a law (not sure if it's voted yet or not) that forces every transaction over 1 or 2K to be plastic and not real money. We'll see what they make out of it in the long run.

 

[MapisM]

Now remind me which countries are deep in the poo because nobody pays taxes...it seems to have slipped my memory !

I might offer you such reminder, if you would be so kind to remind me which Countries are more than glad to welcome foreigners who wish to bring money to their banks, offering at the same time valuable consultancies on the structures which offer the best protection from the prosecution of their home Country fiscal authorities.
I've been told that there are others, on top of Switzerland, Lichtenstein etc., but I also must have a memory slip...

 

[oldgit]

I might offer you such reminder, if you would be so kind to remind me which Countries are more than glad to welcome foreigners who wish to bring money to their banks, offering at the same time valuable consultancies on the structures which offer the best protection from the prosecution of their home Country fiscal authorities.
I've been told that there are others, on top of Switzerland, Lichtenstein etc., but I also must have a memory slip...

The ones you will have misssd are mostly British protectorates,a quick look at whoever is funding the Conservative party will give you handy list of sunny islands where your cash will be safe.

 

[MapisM]

The ones you will have misssd are mostly British protectorates

Nah, those were all included in my previous "etc.".

...but...
...hang on...
Now I remember something about those other places!
Do "Square Mile" and "Canary Wharf" sound familiar, by chance?

 

[jfm]

Do "Square Mile" and "Canary Wharf" sound familiar, by chance?

What exactly are you accusing the City generally of doing MapisM? Your words were "offering [foreigners]... valuable consultancies on the structures which offer the best protection from the prosecution of their home Country fiscal authorities"

On the one hand those words might be saying that the City generally advises, say, an Italian person in London on how to minimise his Italian tax bill lawfully.

On the other hand those words might be saying that the City generally advises Mr IT on structures he could use to stop the Italian authorities from being able to prosecute him for fiscal offences commited by him; I mean offences which, in the absence of the City-advised structures, he would be prosecuted for in Italy.

Or maybe you are saying something else again?

 

[MapisM]

LOL, sorry if I struck a nerve...
Let me put it this way: I don't think there's anyone in the City who can advise non-UK citizens on the usual ways to minimise their tax bill any better than the same kind of consultants can do in the respective home Countries.

 

[jfm]

LOL, sorry if I struck a nerve...

No you didn't. But I see have completely avoided my question (which does touch a raw nerve!)

Let me put it this way:

No, you're saying something completely different now.

I don't think there's anyone in the City who can advise non-UK citizens on the usual ways to minimise their tax bill any better than the same kind of consultants can do in the respective home Countries.

How naive of you MapisM. That might be true Mapis but it is based on a Simpletown premise: it assumes a case (that the City doesn't get out of bed for) where the citizen has just one country's worth of laws to consider. But in the real big ticket world you have to deal with multiple countries all at once, and in that game the City wins.

 

[joliette]

But in the real big ticket world you have to deal with multiple countries all at once, and in that game the City wins.

In the 'real big ticket world' the City would've sunk if it wasn't for the bailout ... to bring things back onto a nautical footing.

 

[jfm]

In the 'real big ticket world' the City would've sunk if it wasn't for the bailout ... to bring things back onto a nautical footing.

Sure (If I may use one word to cover a very big topic!). But your point is...?

 

[MapisM]

No you didn't. But I see have completely avoided my question (which does touch a raw nerve!)

C'mon J, you must really be joking.
Now it's YOUR question which touched MY nerve? Perleeeeaase...

Ok, my previous answer was rather cryptic, but not because I'm naive.
The reason is simply that I didn't want to debate in detail the ethic (or lack of) of the City, and even less so with yourself, since you're involved.
But since you insist (and please don't forget that you did), I'll try to be clearer.

See, in my post #29 I simply answered to oldgit, who seemed to believe that Italy (together with Greece and France which he also mentioned, and God knows which other Countries) is deep in the poo because nobody pays taxes.
I suppose that in this respect you could say that my nerve was touched, but by this comment, rather than by your question.
In fact, what such comment implies is that the citizens of these Countries are unethical at best, and criminal at worst. And not just a few of them, or some, or most, but ALL of them, if I read what he said literally.
As opposed - though TBH oldgit didn't say that, but I hope you'll see why I assumed he meant it - to other more civilised Countries.

Now, in my opinion this viewpoint is the result of a mixture of prejudice and hypocrisy, and this was the reason of my reply. But since there's only so much that can be done against prejudice, I tried to highlight at least the hypocrisy.
Btw, the UK as a Country, or the City as its most representative entity in these matters, was just one example. I could have made others, with other "civilised" Countries.
Anyway, since you focused the debate on this example, let's stick to it.

First of all, I neither said that I was "accusing" the City of anything, nor I mentioned fiscal offences.
You did.
That's ok though, let's assume that since I used the term "prosecution" (which was actually meant as "pursuit", now that I checked the dictionary), that wasn't a Freudian slip, but just what you understood from my post...

Secondly, the "big ticket" cases you mention are exactly the ones I was talking about. If you think that the problems of tax evasion/elusion in Italy - or anywhere else in the world - are due to the ice cream kiosks which don't give you a receipt, well, THIS is being naive.

Thirdly, in my previous reply I wasn't saying something "completely different".
I was aswering (admittedly, in a partial manner) the question in your post #32, saying that your "On the one hand" case is NOT what I meant.
Which brings us to the rest of your question: was I talking about your "On the other hand" case, or something else?
Well, I hope you will forgive me if I answer with another question.
I'm sure that this time you won't tell me that I avoided your question, anyway.
Can you swear that in all those big-ticket-multiple-Countries structures on which the City advises their clients, they (the City) can always assure them (the clients) that they would have zero problems in fully disclosing those structures (ownership, economic beneficiaries, etc.) to the fiscal authorities of their respective home Countries?
If you can't, well, you've found the answer to your question.
And if you do swear the above, sorry, but I for one wouldn't trust you.

Last but not least, re. your following statement:

But in the real big ticket world you have to deal with multiple countries all at once, and in that game the City wins.

There's not a lot to add to the previous comment from joliette, whose point I'm sure you actually understood, because it's pretty obvious that he was arguing about the verb you used: the City actually lost big time, and if there's anyone who won, that's the British (albeit not only, but mostly) taxpayer. If nothing else, succeeding in keeping it alive.
But what grabbed my attention is actually another word in your sentence, which is definitely (this time, without any benefit of the doubt!) a Freudian slip.
See, it's surely not a game we're talking about, J.
Feel free to suggest a better definition if you wish - I'm sure your vocabulary is much better than mine - but the way I would use to describe it is fight.
And a no-holds barred one, particularly in the way it's developing lately.

 

[joliette]

Sure (If I may use one word to cover a very big topic!). But your point is...?

... that we should've left 'em to drown!