Kitman

Embarrassing, really

I think if it wasn't in Ukraine, England could get a comfortable draw. But you never know, the crowd could be the decisive factor.

I think most of the better players from France and Holland will have been at the Euros, and most of their clubs would want to wait till after the tournament to do business. If only to maximise values. I hate waiting on transfers.

Good question PL. It might be as simple as Harry's demanded too much.....or there may be more to it. At the moment the press will kiss Arry's arse, be interesting to see if Spurs leak anything damaging

Old Nick will be toasting his bollocks as we speak, what an evil bastard. Might watch Goodfellas again in honour of his passing.

Surprising, I think Spurs will go backwards now. I assume this was an argument about his contract as it doesn't make a lot of sense football-wise

Baaaad karma?

Whatever happened to having a nice quiet spliff at home? Seems getting cranked up on weird shit and throwing your guts at the police is more fun.....

Happy birthday!

It's NZ dollars so it's not real money like your great British pounds......

:lol:

About 4 x the New Zealand average and 6 x the world average. However NZ is a low wage economy and the cost of living is comparatively high.

Gambling or bad investments usually account for a footballer's lack of money. I hope it was all settled into trust for his wife and kids but I doubt it.

Umarst be joking? I'll get me coat

Personally I think he has a point about Liverpool. Not about himself though.

Is there anywhere in the world that has a single flat rate of tax on income?

To speak of the woe that is in marriage......

We had this from Lake Bells Tits a few weeks back. Good player but no.

I think it's a different issue when you have someone who's born and bred in the UK. Then it's a big imposition to have to live abroad and ration their visits to the UK. They'll pay extra to stay in the country. That's different to the likes of foreign nationals like Abramovich who have no real ties to Britain and can bugger off and take their toys with them. I was really talking about foreign nationals but it's true that the rich are mobile and can structure their affairs to suit themselves. Take your example of Sports Direct.....I expect clever people could arrange for the SD head office to be moved offshore along with trade marks, brand names etc if fatty decided to piss off.

I doubt anybody will agree on what's 'fair'. I expect the problem with the super rich, who most people would like to see taxed till their arses bleed, is that they can go and live wherever they want. I suppose the argument for not taxing them to buggery is that they bring substantial investment with them which would go elsewhere if they were driven away. I've not idea whether that has any merit or not.

I guess it's the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion. The smart avoid tax by going and living in Monaco long enough to become non resident. The dumb just lie about their wealth and expect not to get caught despite obvious fortune. The latter would include Wesley Snipes and Lester Piggott. Piggott was an interesting case. Apparently he was caught tax evading bang to rights and was offered the chance by IR to wipe the slate clean. This involved disclosing all his foreign bank accounts, investments and income and paying his back taxes. He duly did this and then settled the bill using a cheque drawn on a super secret bank account that he hadn't disclosed. He went to prison.

I believe it's generally accepted that a lower tax rate actually collects more tax. One of the problems with the UK tax system is it's a bugger's muddle of taxes with different taxes being bolted onto a system which was designed to deal with 19th century land owners. Some taxes are antiquated for the modern age (stamp duty), some are so full of loopholes and exemptions they don't work (CGT, IHT), there's no point to national insurance levies, most of it is tough to understand for the layman. The Inland Revenue struggle with it as well, are under resourced and many of the older and wiser heads have seen their pensions undermined and taken early retirement. The rich are well advised and pay relatively little tax and those who can't afford good advice are denied equality. It needs somebody to rip it up and start again imo with the principles of simplicity, fairness, ease of administration and harmony. It'll never happen because it's a vote loser.

I assume you're being ironic? Some Ashley highlights Acting the greedy cunt: "I couldn't believe it when they weren't prepared to pay me £60,000 a week". Disrespecting the fans like a huffy bairn: "My worst fears were confirmed as Thierry and I sat in the centre circle after the final whistle. His name was sung from the rooftops, while my contribution was recognised by a deafening silence. I was the invisible man." Ashley the faithful partner: at least 7 different allegations of affairs during his relationship with Cheryl Cole, not including the allegation of a homosexual orgy (later retracted). Yes, no comparison with the other twats at all

Some people are a magnet for trouble....Barton seems to be one of them. I'm feeling happier about the decision to move him on with every new incident. I bet QPR would love to get shot of him too.