This post is dedicated to the memory of Orni El-Ad, my mentor and friend, who introduced me to the world of taxation and taught me how to "think tax". Orni died suddenly this weekend at the premature age of 64. May his memory be blessed. "The Children's Book" by A S Byatt is, without doubt, one…
The Greecy pole
When it was suggested last week by a sympathetic BBC interviewer that the Italian government's decision not to fund Rome's bid for the 2020 Olympic Games had cost Italy the chance of taking its place on the world stage, the interviewee retorted sharply "Italy has been on the world stage for 2000 years". Meanwhile, the Greeks keep…
A Greek tragedy – the gods’ revenge
The scene: a windswept precipice at the very edge of Europe overlooking the Aegean Sea. A little man in a business suit stands nervously behind a robust middle-aged woman dressed in what appears, in the failing light, to be a teletubbies jumpsuit. Both are a safe distance from the cliff-face. She is evidently in charge. Two nondescript blacksuited men stand dangerously…
When Harry met Fabi
As a devoted Tottenham Hotspur fan, I was delighted to hear yesterday that manager Harry Redknapp had been cleared of all charges of tax evasion by a unanimous decision of the jury in his trial at Southwark Crown Court. This opened the way for him to be eligible for the job of manager of…
Hard times, great expectations
Mid-Atlantic. 35,000 feet. Dead of night. Everyone around me fast asleep. My seat bathed in the eery glow of one small lamp. Chapter 22: "A Gritty State of Things Come On". The height of the novel. I turn the last page and briefly scroll my eyes to the bottom of the text. The final full stop…
Tax Break 