Emma Thompson’s husband refuses to pay tax until HSBC staff are put in prison
Oscar-winning, actress Emma Thompson, will refuse to pay any tax until those involved in the HSBC tax evasion scandal are put in prison.
Thompson's husband and fellow actor Greg Wise told the Evening Standard that he and his wife would stop giving money to HMRC until "everyone pays tax". Wise trumpeted his commitment to socialism and said "we are all in it together".
Wise is, to say the least, not satisfied with HRMC's performance in dealing with tax avoidance and claimed he "actively loved paying tax". Wise hopes he and Thompson won't be the only ones to launch a tax protest adding that "We’re going to get a load of us together. A movement. They can’t send everyone to prison".
Boss of HSBC Stuart Gulliver faces MPs today to submit evidence on claims its Swiss private banking arm helped clients evade taxes. HMRC has yet conducted a criminal investigation into HSBC's practices.
While a Labour party supporter, Wise said he was in "absolute despair at all of them". He ends the interview saying:
Yes, I’ve got my basic north London Left-wing woolly ideas about what’s going on. [Companies like] HSBC haven’t even been slapped on the wrist [because of this] beautiful grey area between avoidance and evasion. It’s iniquitous. We need to do something — come on!