Fink U-turn: top Tory admits to ‘vanilla’ tax avoidance
‘Everyone does it’ says Tory party treasurer as Ed Miliband wins tax avoidance clash on points
David Cameron was today plunged into a fresh embarrassment over his party’s relations with wealthy tax avoiders after Lord Fink, the Tory treasurer, backed down from suing Ed Miliband and claimed that "everyone" engages in tax avoidance.
In an extraordinary U-turn, Lord Fink completely changed his story this morning. Yesterday, in a letter to Ed Miliband in which he threatened to sue the Labour leader if he repeated in public the allegations he made against him in the Commons, Fink insisted he had only opened an HSBC account in Switzerland because he was working there at the time and needed “to do simple things like receive my Swiss Franc salary and pay grocery bills”
But in an interview with the Evening Standard published this morning, Fink said the "expression 'tax avoidance' is so wide that everyone does tax avoidance at some level".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He admitted to using “tax planning” at what he called the “vanilla” or “mild” end of the spectrum, but stressed that he had rejected expert advice that he could save a fortune in tax by adopting more “aggressive” measures.
On his feud with Miliband, he said: “I didn’t object to his use of the word ‘tax avoidance’. Because you are right: tax avoidance, everyone does it.”
This is what will stick in the craw of many ordinary voters, of course, and why Cameron will be deeply embarrassed. Fink argues that “everyone does it” - but most people wouldn’t know where to begin to avoid paying taxes: to them, the “vanilla” end of tax avoidance is buying an annual ISA.
Miliband said today it marked a "defining moment" for Cameron in the general election campaign. Speaking at his former state school in Camden, Miliband challenged Cameron to explain why he had appointed someone as the treasurer of the Conservative Party who "thinks that tax avoidance is something that everyone does".
Crucially, as I wrote earlier today, Fink had challenged Miliband to stand by - in public, unprotected by parliamentary privilege - the remarks he had made in the Commons. Miliband duly told his audience: “I do.”
However, Miliband did not repeat the word "dodgy" he had employed more than once in Wednesday’s Commons exchange with Cameron. And this encouraged Fink to issue a statement afterwards confirming that he would not be suing Miliband and indeed that it was the Labour leader – not he - who had backed down.
"Yesterday I challenged Ed Miliband to repeat the accusations he made in the Commons – that I used an HSBC bank account to avoid tax and that I was a 'dodgy donor'. He did not. This is a major climbdown by a man who is willing to smear without getting his facts straight."
But as Isabel Hardman writes for The Spectator, this is not correct: Milband never called Fink "dodgy" - he said the Tory party had "dodgy donors".
Talking to the Standard about his dealings at the “vanilla end” of tax avoidance, Fink said he had “used the opportunity... to set up some simple family trusts” while on a four-year posting to Switzerland. He transferred some shares to his children and his wife.
“Really what I was trying to do was, not like a living will, but to allocate a very small shareholding to each of my children so they could pay deposits on houses in London one day after we returned. There was nothing complex, and they weren’t aggressive tax planning.”
So, who won this battle of words? Even the Conservative-supporting papers will be hard-pressed to portray this as anything but an embarrassment for Cameron and the Tory campaign. The Sunday Telegraph’s Iain Martin told the Daily Politics at lunchtime that it was clearly a points win for Miliband.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron men
The Week Recommends Sculptures are 'everymen questioning the privilege of their surroundings' at the Norfolk stately home
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Can Cameron put the Falklands sovereignty dispute to bed?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary says issue 'not up for discussion' ahead of visit amid renewed push from Argentina
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will America recognize a Palestinian state?
Today's Big Question Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the move. Some see it as the only route to peace.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Fasting to burger buffets: the weird and wonderful diets of politicians
Why Everyone's Talking About Rishi Sunak reportedly starts his week with a 36-hour fast
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published