THE REAL ARTFUL DODGERS

It is a favourite trick of the popular press to depict the unemployed and the poorly paid sections of the working class as cunning recipients of state hand-outs and useless parasites on society, but the super-rich could teach them a thing or two when it comes to being artful dodgers. "Almost one in 10 people earning more than £10 million a year is paying less than the 20 per cent basic rate of income tax, new figures have shown. Treasury officials argued the revelation underlined the need for action to prevent the super-rich exploiting loopholes to reduce their tax bill below that of low-paid workers. The figures, released by the Government, show 6 per cent of £10 million-plus earners pay less than 10 per cent in tax and another three per cent pay below the basic 20 per cent rate. Fewer than three quarters pay more than 40 per cent." (Daily Telegraph, 16 April) The only thing we would argue about in this report is the use of the word "earn"! RD