大象传媒

Robert,

Are you now the Political Editor for the 大象传媒?

Perhaps non-doms explain why the UK is a major financial sector with levels of institutional competence that would embarrass a banana republic.

The NR business model was flawed. But we do not know what would have happened if there was no bank run. I doubt shareholders would have got nothing.

The same people whose incompetence caused much of the problem have stolen my shares.

I will never invest in the UK again.

Par for the course.
Brits cannot do anything nowadays.
Even if we could nobody would believe it.
We even drink bottled water..

"They are both intending to pay tax in the UK on their Rock remuneration." If serious commentators such as Robert don't know that UK tax is not optional on UK earnings, no wonder there is such concern at non-doms.

These figures never stop surprising. Why are they attracting so much dissent from the rich and those able to pay. It should be the vast majority for whom taxes represent a real loss in spending power (though a necesssry one to maintain a functioning society) who should draw concern. Those that can and won't should either be brought to order or got rid of. Over simplified maybe but why should we sympathise with these people who may as well be living on another planet, let alone another country.

So what who cares, are you sure you don't want to multiply his salary by twelve and divide it by the number of taxpayers in the UK.

What was Applegarth's tax status?

Didn't he and the former Board members not contribute to the problems in the first place?

Given the incompetnce of Applegarth et al the Non Dom issue is not so important.

Is Mr. Sandler worth his salary?

#3

Not sure it's true that Brits cannot do anything nowadays. It's perhaps more a question of whether you'd trust someone from the UK financial services sector to do this job without ripping someone off.

Now if they'd asked an engineer to do it it would be a different matter of course!

Are you suggesting they might not have paid tax on their Rock salaries?? Would that not be breaking the law? Surely the 大象传媒's business editor should not have to state the obvious?

And I must say (re comments above)that the government would struggle to appoint someone of Mr Sandler's standing were they to offer him the a meager government salary!

I heard somebody on Radio 4 say that Non Doms brought a lot of work to London.

We live in Nottingham.

with that salary, how will they ever afford to keep northern rock afloat? all the money it makes will be thrown back at him and her! nearly 2 million a year!

Please pay me Mr Sandler's 拢90k per month, and I'll supervise NR's demise.

I'm so pleased to learn that he intends to pay UK tax on this money. Was he given an option whether he does or not? Nothing would surprise me.

To Peter Ball, Having worked with many non-doms I don't think what you are saying is correct. You don't pay income tax on your UK earnings if you don't intend to make the UK your eventual home, and you don't bring this money (earned in the UK) back into the UK. UK tax is optional for these people. And it's not just millionaires, it's very many normal staff on 40k a year.

It's UK based product that forms Mr Sandler's and Ms Godbehere's remuneration from Northern Rock, and we should expect that this product is treated for UK tax purposes in the same way as if it were being paid to someone with UK tax domicile. If this is the case, why should we be concerned about what happens to their income from elsewhere in the world? What business is it of ours if foreign nationals choose to have their non-UK income assessed for taxation elsewhere than in the UK?

We should, however, rightly be concerned if UK based product escapes the net of UK taxation through inadequacies in the legislation relating to the taxation of the non-resident and/or the non-domiciled. The principle should be that all UK product should potentially be assessable to UK tax, even if for social/political reasons some of it is exempted from charge. The residence/domicile of the recipient should not qualify as such a reason.

If non-doms live in the United Kingdom and have been a permanent resident for over 7 years why should they have a preferential treatment compared to UK Citizens who are born in this country and pay tax on their worldwide income? I would guess almost all non-doms feel lucky that they only have to pay 拢30K a year and keep the rest of their worldwide income out of the hands of the UK revenue and are able to earn income tax-free on their worldwide assets. Perhaps the chancellor could offer all of us non-dom status? It is no surprise that the United Kingdom has become a melting-pot for the rich and famous globally, this is simply because the United Kingdom is one of the most tax friendly countries if you are not born here. I think it鈥檚 time that non-doms start contributing to the tax burden like the rest of us.

Perhap a question about stock options and if those profits would be taxed might have been to the point?

And your point is?

Now that the story is basically over, you are trying to wring the last drops out of it.

Please give up now Robert and return to what you were doing before the NR story broke, because I never noticed you then.

If NR has 800,000 mortgages, and NR "owes" Bank of England 拢97.7b, I calculate that is about 拢113,375 per property. If the average house price is , I seem to recall, about 拢190,000(?) what is the problem? The mortgagors are repaying inaccordance with their contracts, so NR receives its repayment income, and the debt is more than comfortably secured. Or is the majority of NC loans on very low value property, or to "sub prime" borrowers?

With all the wide-ranging civil servants in the Treasury department, Gordon Brown must have known someone who would be better for the job and who we could be paying less than 拢1M a year. Or does he think in his administration that might be far-fetched?

And your point is?

Now that the story is basically over, you are trying to wring the last drops out of it.

Please give up now Robert and return to what you were doing before the NR story broke, because I never noticed you then.

Peter Ball wrote "If serious commentators such as Robert don't know that UK tax is not optional on UK earnings, no wonder there is such concern at non-doms."

Is Robert Peston still seen as a serious comentator? He seems to be intent on simply going for headline grabbing stories (like this one) rather than providing economic analysis. Or maybe he's simply following the lead of "Boy George" Osbourne and the Tory front bench in this approach?

拢90,000... a month?! So that's where all our taxpayer's money is going.

Say again - ninety grand a MONTH?!! Of OUR money! He should be paid only if he succeeds in recovering the billions of (again) our money which may be lost if the borrowers default - maybe some sort of percentage would cover it.

As far as the non-dom tax is concerned, as Peter Ball said, he will have to pay full UK tax on his earnings. This means his net monthly income will be over 拢53,000 - twice the average annual pre-tax salary in the UK.

Accumulating that 拢53K over 12 months - and not counting his existing (and no doubt extensive) offshore savings - would earn him interest of around 拢16K at a 5% return. If his other offshore income is over 拢60K then the annual 拢30,000 charge will seem quite reasonable compared to the 40% tax he would otherwise have had to pay, if he was a UK domicile.

Darling's new rule for non-doms is utter nonsense. And so is this man's salary.

Screw this, I'm off to a well-run country without such levels of corruption. Anyone know how much is the fare to Harare?

Well done Robert!

Nice to know that the man in charge of safeguarding our 拢100 billion "investment" in Northern Crock is not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

If you made this stuff up noone would believe it.

Keep up the good work.

Is this fair criticism of Ron Sandler? I know we have to live with tabloid journalism, even from the 大象传媒, and other celebrity obsessed media which has numbed the minds of great swathes of our population, giving rise to easy myth creation. This helps nobody least of all ordinary folk, of whom I am one, better understand the true issues of UK economics. Even the bored and disinterested have started to seriously complain about the gross incomes earned by latter day rip and strip merchants to the detriment of genuine wealth creators. The fault lies with politicians creating a climate where abuse prospers. The Regulators, appointed by politicians, are outwitted and intimidated by big business. Perhaps Guy Fawkes knew something we don't.

I have always been told that all income was taxable.

Wow Robert, you get the most miserable comments posted on the 大象传媒 website.

Sometimes I read your articals just to see how miserable your readers can make you/themselves/each other?

Keep up the good work.

A fan

I sincerely hope that a significant proportion of MR Sandler's salary will be in share options, as is the case in normal companies where the Exec Chairman wants more than 拢1m per year...

I dont care wether these guys are non dom or not. I query the fact they can be paid such an extraordinary amount of money for what is after all a very simple task. Closing down an institution and sacking 6,000 staff. I think they should be ashamed of earning so much money while having to make all these redundancies.
NR is bust and has been bust since August. No sweet talk from the governement or these guys will me believe otherwise.

Well done Robert!

Nice to know that the man in charge of safeguarding our 拢100 billion "investment" in Northern Crock is not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

If you made this stuff up noone would believe it.

Keep up the good work.

Just shows how crucial the non doms are to the UK economy

For goodness sake Mr Pest, can you not write about anything else except Northern Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pay me 拢90k per month, and I'll happily supervise NR's demise.

It's good to hear that Mr Sandler and his colleagues 'intend to pay UK tax' on their 'earnings'. Were they given an option not to? Nothing would surprise me>

#15 - not true. You only escape UK tax on UK earnings *if* you are not ordinarily resident (and fulfil several other conditions). The most you can escape from is 59% (approx) in the first three years of residence. ALL other UK earnings are taxable, even for non-doms.

What a shame they are being paid so little.
They should have become footballers or 大象传媒 celebs then they would really earn the big money.

With the 拢100bln of tax payers money going to NR would it not have been better to invest that amount in the UK economy? That would have gone down well.
Brown and Darling could have reduced taxes on fuel by that amount that would have helped the UK people.

Why should they put tax payers money into NR, if my business got into difficulties would Brown or Darling help me out????

To Andrew Davidson: Peter is in fact correct. Earnings in respect of duties performed in the UK are always subject to UK income tax, even if the earner is not even tax resident in the UK. Non-dom status simply allows individuals domiciled abroad to avoid paying UK tax on overseas earnings and capital gains unless they bring those earnings or gains into the UK. If you do know of people who work in the UK but don't pay UK tax in respect of those UK earnings, they (and their employers) are breaking the law!

Actually,Andrew Davidson, it is you that is incorrect.

The remittance basis does not apply to UK earnings.

I hope the non-doms you worked with were not paying you for tax advice!

Yet again the taxpayer foots the bill for the incompetence of the Northern Rock mess people. When are these "crooks" going to be brought to justice who think they can conduct their crooked
business with no accountability.
If the ordinary man in the street
conducted his business in this manner then he would most certainly
have been sent to prison by now.
So what makes these "city" people untouchable?
As for Mr Sandler.....the government
cannot even find somebody who is "clean" to run the Rock.
But then they wouldn't want that would they??

Is it just me! Why dont we tax payers that own NR have a say in what the pay scales are. 拢90k per month!!! In addition to the fat cat consultants hired by the government to advise what to do because no one in the Government has a clue. Why arent the middle classes in revolt over this incompetent shower. Trouble is are the opposition any better..

Is it not possible that their Rock remuneration will be transferred to their offshore company (by providing enabling documentation) so that it is regarded as not arising in the UK???
do they have employment contracts with the Rock???- YES/NO

The tabloid nature of much of 大象传媒 News output these days (opinion little fact)inevitably fails to inform but stokes the appetite for celebrity trivia. Little wonder that people react unfavourably to those skilled enough rescue banking basket cases. Ron Sandler will earn his corn. The trouble is that tabloid news gives rise to myth making so the useful get caught in the furore about the rip and strip financial managers who make multi-millions a week. Remember one mans gain is loss to many more. The politicians create the climate in which abuses abound. Their cyphers, the Regulators, are outwitted and intimidated by big business. So once again "it is the rich what gets the pleasure and the poor what takes the blame(loss). I am often minded to think at another time I would have been on Guy Fawkes side.

Is it just me! Why dont we tax payers that own NR have a say in what the pay scales are. 拢90k per month!!! In addition to the fat cat consultants hired by the government to advise what to do because no one in the Government has a clue. Why arent the middle classes in revolt over this incompetent shower. Trouble is are the opposition any better..

I earn money in UK I pay tax in UK. Why am I expected to pay tax in UK for the income earnt elsewhere (where I have a tax deduction anyway). It is just unfair. If you have worked with local government and other government departments, you will appreciate how much of taxpayers money is lost through bureucracy. Effective management of tax is vital rather than raising further taxes.

Non-doms can opt to pay UK or foreign tax. In other countries, they have to pay both such as Canada and the US. It's only here they can get away with it. Elsewhere its called TAX EVASION.

The key issue will be what was said to the FSA about this time last year. Did the FSA ask NR about the business model? You would hope so. Did NR say it was sustainable? Did the FSA even ask if it ewas sustainable and more importantly how would it be sustainable in a crisis?

Subject to that you would think the shareholders might go after the old Board of NR

Is it not possible that their Rock remuneration will be transferred to their offshore company (by providing enabling documentation) so that it is regarded as not arising in the UK???
do they have employment contracts with the Rock???- YES/NO

Andrew Davidson (post 15) is wrong regarding income tax for non-doms. Non-doms are subject to UK income tax based on the the time spent in the UK per tax year (i.e. resident for tax purpose) and has nothing to do with their intention of eventually settling in the UK. The advantage that non-doms at present have is that any income generated outside the UK is not subject to UK tax unless it is brought into the UK - it could of course be subject to tax in the the country where the income is generated.

For clarity I quote the IR. "Section 21 taxes the full amount of any general earnings for a tax year in which the employee is resident and ordinarily resident, but not domiciled, in the UK except to the extent that they are 鈥渃hargeable overseas earnings鈥� for that year." What is not taxed is the overseas earning and there are rules and conditions to stop cheats who claim to have overseas earnings when the earnings are due to UK employment.

What have you got against Northern Rock?

#10
The problem with asking an engineer to do the job would be that they would look you in the eye and say:

How did you ever get into this mess?

This model is inherently unstable.

What do you actually want the end result to be?

How long do you want it to last?

502..

All this talk about the advantages that non-doms have with respect to UK tax ignores one very important point - some actually pay significant tax in their "domiciled" home. For instance, any USA national pays tax on their Worldwide income, so they could have to pay double tax with the new UK tax regime to be put in place in 2008. I know - the USA is a brutal country, but there it is.

Surely Brian Golden's comment encapsulates the greatest risk for the UK caused by the Northern Rock fiasco? Have not Gordon Brown (with Tony Blair's protection), the FSA and the BoE conspired to destroy our reputation as a great place to invest? Could someone at the 大象传媒 track the ongoing impact on inward investment into the UK as a result of this shambles? We would then see the true scale of the catastrophe.

All this talk about the advantages that non-doms have with respect to UK tax ignores one very important point - some actually pay significant tax in their "domiciled" home. For instance, any USA national pays tax on their Worldwide income, so they could have to pay double tax with the new UK tax regime to be put in place in 2008. I know - the USA is a brutal country, but there it is.

Much more importantly will Newcastle Utd be forced to play in red,white and blue?

I cannot believe the total lack of judgement displayed by this government- do they have any common sense. I know they are no longer fit for purpose and are well past their sell by date but they simply lurch from one disaster/misjudgement to another.

I cannot believe the total lack of judgement displayed by this government- do they have any common sense. I know they are no longer fit for purpose and are well past their sell by date but they simply lurch from one disaster/misjudgement to another.

I sincerely hope that a significant proportion of MR Sandler's salary will be in share options, as is the case in normal companies where the Exec Chairman wants more than 拢1m per year...

Was Ian MacGregor a non dom when he did for Coal and Steel?

Funny how non doms get to do the dirty work..

So who is responsible for where we are now? The Government, The FSA, The Bank of England, The Directors of Northern Rock or Robert Preston whose report brought out most of the Banks customers to withdraw their money. I know where my money would be.

I hope you are a happy man, caused the demise of a bank that should have survived, pushed the UK economy nearer to recesion and probably cost most taxpayers a large part of their pension fund.

Don't you think its time to stop now?

Do we know whether this coruscating duo will put in the 60-70 hours a week supposedly worked by high-flyers? Or will they keep their day jobs? (We have yet to be told what the hot-shot lawyers they'll bring with them will cost) The whole thing stinks, and it's not as if it were a bank that anybody had heard of outside the North East or City pubs. How will they justify these ludicrous salaries when they start sacking the staff? And this done by a Labour Government. Keir Hardie eat your heart out.

Perhaps Mr Davidson is confusing the 'dual employment contract' schemes, where a person performs some of his duties outside the UK. I hope for his sake that this is the only such instance of this confusion, as failure to withhold PAYE on UK sourced employment emoluments is quite a serious matter...

As a proposed nom-dom in order to qualify for such status does this mean the new NR boss will be spending only upto 183 days a year working in the UK in his new role? So 拢90k / month for working what ammounts to an aveage 15 days per month? I work that out at 拢6k / day or 拢750 / hour.....nice work if you can get it! What about British jobs for British workers Gordon! I am sure there is a Polish person out there who will do the job for a 1/5th of the price!

Are the salaries quoted monthly or has there been a misprint on the article?

The board and chairman should now be paid at the same rate as any nationalised industry.
The big unforgotten losers in all of this are the borrowers who are now going to be forced into being repossesed, due to Sandlers draconian intrest rate charges. In order to eliminate 50% of the mortgage book.. Some sucess what a clown.

Mr Preston do you have a life other than Northern Rock?

I believe that you were the sole creator of this story and you spun it and spun it until the bank collapsed. You and the 大象传媒 are a disgrace and signify everything that is wrong with this country

Do you have no proper work to do Mr Pesky Peston ? If the british taxpayers received just one pound for every stupid word you printed then the Rock could have paid off its loan ten times over (if you disagree with this figure then its about the same fiction that you have made up from the start) I can understand why you don't work for a living when you can use the british taxpayers 大象传媒 licence fee to get paid for making up any fairy story you want. You are a disgrace to the 大象传媒 and all hard working people (like the staff of Northern Rock) Get a life or at least a proper job.

Anybody with a miligram of grey matter knows that the country that will tax you the worst is your own. Its the same thing as when a company offers a promotion for new customers that it doesn't offer to existing ones.

So vote with your feet. Those who stay and rant are either too mediocre or smart but without courage.

Have what it takes and emigrate. There are at least 10 countries with incredibly better tax regimes than the UK.

I am non dom. I have decided to pack. Not even if they retreated on proposed legislation would I change now. Alistair Darling gave me the reason to start looking and I found a better deal in another country.

He's going to lose my PAYE, my wife's, and my Nanny and Secretaries (both of which will be dismissed), and all for a paltry 30 grand. He will lose 3 times more tax revenue with my departure, and all of you who stay will pay for it.

Salary figures quoted sound about right. Would be marginally more interested (although still not very) to know about his incentive package.

This story is now a dead duck. Please move on.

The tabloid nature of much of 大象传媒 News output these days (opinion little fact)inevitably fails to inform but stokes the appetite for celebrity trivia. Little wonder that people react unfavourably to those skilled enough rescue banking basket cases. Ron Sandler will earn his corn. The trouble is that tabloid news gives rise to myth making so the useful get caught in the furore about the rip and strip financial managers who make multi-millions a week. Remember one mans gain is loss to many more. The politicians create the climate in which abuses abound. Their cyphers, the Regulators, are outwitted and intimidated by big business. So once again "it is the rich what gets the pleasure and the poor what takes the blame(loss). I am often minded to think at another time I would have been on Guy Fawkes side.

Labour....Friends of the Rich (At any price)

So, Northern Rock cant be bought by Richard Virgin because he would make a proit on it, uh.

Most comments proof how little the public knows regarding the Non-Domicile taxation status. The non-domicile status is allocated by the Inland Revenue to new residents in this country, not by themselves!. You are allowed to apply for ordinary resident status but unless you have lived in the UK for substantial number of years, this application is unlikely to be accepted. Non-doms have therefore not necessarily voluntarily their non-dom status! Non-doms pay, like everybody else, tax over their UK income and assets except they are not obliged to pay tax over income abroad unless it comes into the UK. Other countries do not have a non-dom status within their tax laws but have many tax treaties with other countries to prevent double taxation. The idea to charge 拢30K to each individual with non-dom status is total nonsense. Not everybody with non-dom status has a large worldwide income to pay such amount! It opens pandara-box: What to do with low income individuals who came here many years ago on invite of the many larger corporations? Can you charge 拢30K to these individuals the same as the millionaires with non-dom status ? What about people from EU ? Wasn't it the purpose of the EU to have an open market for all ?
By-the-way why should the non-doms pay 拢30k each to save every ordinary resident potential inheritance tax, which exists in every other self-respecting west-european country? I'm a non-dom since 2000 involuntarily, have little assets abroad, a small UK house, a moderate professial UK income. If this non-dom charge would be instated, I would need to ask my company to reimburse it. They are the reason why I'm here. So, a 拢30k charge to a non-dom will become another UK business tax. How clever politicians can be...

What a great idea this non-dom status is. How do I become one? All I need to do is to be arrogant enough to think that I am so special and so important that I shouldn't have to pay tax anywhere! After all I work so hard for the good of society, that the world owes me a living!

Can the Chancellor get anything right? This 'tax the rich' throwback is exactly the kind of policy that had business and the market makers wobble everytime labour went to teh polls in the 80s. The amount of indirect tax generated by the non-domiciled is hat should be up on the chalkboard. I really have my doubts about the Chancellor's capacity to separate trivia (such as this) from the crushign disaster that has been official policy towards NR. Let the markets sort out NR - sorry too late for that - but for goodnes sake stop penalising people who are making a bit of money. Great coverage of the NR story Robert by the way.

AS a poor bloody tax payer forced to live in this country and heavily taxed to pay for Gordon Browns mistakes I object to keeping these NON-DOM tax payers in the style to which they are accustomed. So go away.

keep up the good work Mr P, ignore the whingers!

I would like to know when I can expect my shares in NR as it is my money/taxes that has paid for this re-structure/refinance

To all who are disputing Andrew Davidson,

You are all wrong and Andrew Davidson is perfectly right. Look at form P-85 at the HMRC website. All UK tax paid for performing duties in the UK are refundable when you go back.

Andrew Davidson is perfectly right in saying that Non UK persons are actually non taxable in UK if they choose to go back. Of course there are conditions to be fulfilled and forms to be filled and criteria to be met, but broadly speaking Andrew is right.

Non domicile tax status is grotesque; the price of living in a civilised country is taxation - if you want things like emergency services, social services, properly maintained roads etc, you should pay your taxes towards them, whether your income is from the UK or abroad.
If you don't want to pay taxes, then live in a country where there is no government or public services, and where you have to fend entirely for yourself - for example, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Don't live in the society provided by the taxes paid by the majority of the UK population if your aim is always to pay as little tax as possible - please go and live and live somewhere where nobody cares if there are parasites living off the taxes paid by everybody else.

The punitive 拢30,000 'Tax' will not even make a dent in the Petty Cash. Take an accurate look at the 'Monaco Millionaires', who collectively owe more then FIVE BILLION POUNDS in unpaid Income Tax, and one alone has all his businesses IN THE UK, and pays NO Income Tax at all. This Government ignores such people saying 'They are making wealth for the country !'. Which country ? More for themselves maybe ? Why shouldn't they pay the sames taxes that the UK Pensioners have to pay, and any other 'normal' person in the UK ?

Is Mr Peston now the general economics spokesperson for the universe?

Sorry, but I don't even read him any more because he is "everywhere".

Any time an economics issue comes up, "over to the Robert Peston".

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz can we have some alternatives please.

Suppose my Zambian employer pays me, a South African, $500,000 a year to go to UK on about 4 visits of 12 weeks each and pester companies to buy his product. My salary is deposited into my account at a middle east branch of Ottoman Bank. I use a debit card to fund the $150,000 a year I spend on living costs in UK. Is anyone suggesting I should be paying UK income tax?

Sandler is an intelligent and extremely determined manager. As most people would guess, he spends most of his time he is working for himself. Would it be fair to conclude that, consequently, the benefits of what he does in this case, judged by the those who are paying him, come almost as a by-product of this personal drive? No, not really, I suggest.

Will we, the UK's taxpayers and electors, ever know exactly what extra incentives, if any, he has been given to produce a very good result for us in two to four years from now?

It's a valid question, even if, in truth, he doesn't actually need any extra incentives. Succeeding in this mission would add unbelievable value to his already gold-plated reputation. But that wouldn't have stopped him from demanding - and, quite likely, being given - a remarkably generous bonus plan.

Lastly, how much has the taxpayer paid out to Goldman Sachs for their consutancy work on the NR "rescue"? And what is the relationship of Ron Sandler to Goldman Sachs?

Robert, keep up the good work!

Whitakers Almanac - complete edition 1968 quotes he Civil Estimates Class 1. Government and Exchequer - Treasury and Subordinate Depts. - as 拢5,446,000 for 67-68. Were these estimates required by Act of Parliament and if so what parameters are being complied with today.Surely more factual information is publicly required on individuals given financial responsibilies controlling the finances of our country.Are there no constraints on monumental financial decisions by individuals.Are they all in the same club? Cant someone please investigate?

Can we not employ Adam Sandler instead? Cheaper and more competent.

Maybe somebody should write a book on the Credit Crunch calling it 'The Never Ending Story'?

A tale of how the nothingness of debt began to engulf the economics of lifestyle and the politics of focus groups in Fantasia.

...

Why does this article not contain the multiple ums, ers and ahs of your spoken pieces?

"They are both intending to pay tax in the UK on their Rock remuneration." So Robert Peston does not know that UK tax is not optional on UK earnings - the serial incompentence of 大象传媒 economics reporting, which allows Government incompetence to go unquestioned.

Frankly 72, if you live anywhere purely on the basis of your bank account you are welcome to go and I'll happily stand my personal share of the loss.

I've actually moved from the UK to a country with a more onerous tax regime, but maybe I have slightly wider criteria as my basis for the decision.

Is anything illegal happening? No? Thought not. Then where is the story?

This is a pretty poor bit of reporting about somthing that is perfectly legal. And yet its taken up many a news broadcast today. Robert, Im afraid this is tabloid gutter stuff where you really dont belong.

Browns economic miracle? I don't think so!

Thanks for yet another excellent piece of investigative journalism, Robert; I find your columns invaluable, clear, easy to understand, informative and stimulating - just as they should be!
I observe with interest those who dislike your focus and can only presume they have a vested interest in the status quo, which you so consistently and correctly challenge. As the saying goes ... if the cap fits, wear it with pride.
I can almost hear Neil Kinnock ranting "A Labour Prime Minister mark you, overseeing a Nationalised Bank paying 拢90k and 拢75k per month to non-Doms".
Whatever next?!

why is this a story?

He is paying UK tax (40%) plus another 10% or so National Insurance on his UK earnings !

So he is fully compliant with all HMRC Tax rules.

Give it up Peston, it's a non story so why not leave NR in peace-you are turning into another Gilligan.
The whole NR thing was cranked up by you when a bit of stability and order was needed you gave the opposite..crap journo in my view.

It's getting very worrying how the number of people in Britain who you can trust is getting fewer and fewer. Politicians, estate agents, civil servants, dentists, utility suppliers, and now bankers. I think that leaves teachers and doctors to go. Britain used to be known for its integrity. Now few could spell it and fewer have any idea what it means. If I could afford it or knew how, I don't think I would invest in the UK any more.

"They are both intending to pay tax in the UK on their Rock remuneration."
To reiterate many earlier comments: Non-doms pay tax on earnings in the UK. Period, Full Stop. Ther intentions are totally irrelevant. Mr Preston started a run on a bank /broke the Northern Rock story (if you are a journalist). Now he is ambiguous about simple factual matters. Ho Hum.

As a Northern Rock employee I have followed the Peston blogs for 5 months now. They are a strange form of car crash TV-style entertainment, and whoever keeps ringing him from the Treasury with highly sensitive scoops still hasn't been rumbled, so he does get the latest news first.

Anyway, after 5 months of reading I now think I can write a blog in the style of Robert Peston. Here goes:

THE ROCK AND A TRILLION POUNDS

A trillion pounds. That's a lot of money. Put another way that's 拢1,166,666 for every man, woman and child living in this country today. It's a 1 followed by TWELVE zeros (1,000,000,000,000).

So what does this colossal sum have to do with Northern Rock? Well, let me explain.

Now that the Rock is nationalised - as I revealed first by the way - the government own the company but have promised to oversee the operation at arm's length. This means the new management team have a free rein to do as they like. My sources have confirmed that some other UK banks have already written to the chancellor arguing that the Rock has an unfair competitive advantage as they have access to the Bank of England - who literally have a licence to print money!

So, what if the new management decide to use this unfair advantage to aggressively price their mortgage deals at zero percent interest? What if every homeowner in the UK moves their mortgages to Northern Rock and the Rock gets the colossal sum of money to cover these loans from the Bank of England? We - the British taxpayers - could then be liable for a staggering TRILLION pounds worth of liabilities! Or maybe even more.

As a result of this, ALL other UK banks could go bust, causing a catastrophe on a scale not seen since the Wall Street Crash of the 1930s. The Rock could then hike up its rates to 30% as it had no competition and repossess EVERY home in the UK.

Imagine it. Everyone would lose their homes. All other high street banks would be gone. Stockbrokers jumping out of windows. Shocking. Terrible.

Update at 2pm:

My sources in the Treasury have confirmed to me that a billion pounds IS a lot of money. They have also confirmed that some people believe 2+2=4. Personally I think 2+2= a COLOSSAL 拢100bn and if I say so, many of my blog readers will agree. I will be repeating this story on News 24 every 15 mins and then on 大象传媒 News at Ten.

Im sorry, is this news? is it an opinion? what exactly is it except a non-story ?.

'Geoff Windsor,37 Durham, refused to be drawn to a conclusion on the death of Diana.' Is that worth printing also?

Clearly the point of this blog was to have a little dig at the overseas finances of Ron Sandler. Why not just do that instead of masquerading it as something else?

Is this the same R Sandler who presided over the Stakeholder Pensions disaster? ...........er yes.

So better give him another Government sponsored job with a huge taxpayer sponsored salary.

It can only result in another disaster. It is rather odd - is it not? Non-dom too!

Im sorry, is this news? is it an opinion? what exactly is it except a non-story ?.

'Geoff Windsor,37 Durham, refused to be drawn to a conclusion on the death of Diana.' Is that worth printing also?

Clearly the point of this blog was to have a little dig at the overseas finances of Ron Sandler. Why not just do that instead of masquerading it as something else?

Its interesting to see the number of people who can't even read on this thread. Most of the people criticising Robert Peston for doing his job - investigating and reporting - manage to misspell his name as PRESTON. It immediately makes me assume they are an idiot.

The taxpayer hasn't *given* NR 拢100Bn. It has underwritten it. Big difference.

Also, Why is 拢90k a month such a ridiculous figure? Head of a bank with millions of UK customers worried about their savings, and needing to steer a tricky course in the next couple of years? Its less than many footballers get for being stupid but good with their feet.

to all the whingers - if you don't like the UK, go away and live somewhere else and stop moaning.

Mr Peston, Don't you feel any responsibility for the effects of breaking the story in the first place - effectively creating the (mob) hysteria which caused the run and potentially ending in a bank failure. There is a good chance that there might have been an orderly resolution had the bank's problems been resolved by the grey suits in peace. Are there no professional ethics any more? I think of the paedophile 'outing' hysteria created by the reporting in News of the World, and the resultant anger/violence by the mob at the house of an innocent 'paediatrician' [i'd be glad to hear other readers' opinions on this]

Secondly there seem to be many who cannot distinguish between 'residency', 'nationality' and 'domicile' in the earnings/tax debate which causes a number of erroneous comments across the media on this whole issue. A good explanation in the reporting would help greatly.

Re #10 and #55

Do not know if #10 is being deliberately obtuse, but for the information of #55 Mr Sandler graduated in engineering from Cambridge. That was in the paper this morning

"He's going to lose my PAYE, my wife's, and my Nanny and Secretaries (both of which will be dismissed), and all for a paltry 30 grand."

So you're going to give up your job for the sake of 30K? You're either too poor or too petty to be of any use to this country, then. Two secretaries and a nanny - assume they're paid 30K each, that works out about the same. Of course, if you or your wife still work in the UK, then you're still eligible to pay tax on earnings here. If you only work abroad, then no harm, no foul - we weren't getting a slice anyway.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed your access to free education and healthcare - they were available, even if you didn't use them - police, fire, transport, culture and other services paid for by general taxation.

I thought the 大象传媒 was supposed to DELIVER News - NOT create stories out of nothing

Mr Preston you are NOT worth whatever the 大象传媒 is paying you - Oh - I forgot WE are paying you as WE and Licence Fee Payers.

Peter Ball's comment that UK tax on UK earnings is "non-optional" is incorrect. UK earnings from UK companies are not generally subject to UK tax if the worker qualifies as a non-resident. (Note that non-resident is not the same as non-dom.)

Of course, this non-dom tax plan has a problem. All non-uk based academics with funding from abroad will face the choice to be either financially wiped out, or driven out of the country.

Freedom and the rule of law cost money. No pay no stay.

Please can we get real. Non doms pay tax on UK incomes, 拢1m is a lot but is not 'where our taxpayers money is going',amd the goverment has not lost 100bn any more than any bank has lost its entire loan book. It is a mess compounded by incompetence but can we deal with the issues not sensationalism-confidence, the economy generally, jobs and the future of inter bank lending

Mr. Peston,
I find it extraordinary that as a responsible journalist you are continuing to create the perception that Non Doms do not pay taxes on their UK earned income by writing "they are both intending to pay tax in the UK on their Rock remuneration." This is to state as if they had the choice. They do not. Income earned inn the UK is automatically taxed in the UK. I am a non dom and have paid tax on all my UK earned income . I am also an American and file US tax return on my world wide-income. Being asked to pay another 拢30,000 for me and another 拢30,000 for my wife on top of all the taxes we pay to the Revenue and to the US IRS would seem excessive and unfair. Please do not convey the misleading perception that all Non Doms have a beneficial tax position in the UK. A modicum of intellectual honesty and accurate reporting would be welcome.

I am obviously missing a trick. I receive a pension from overseas because I worked overseas in my twenties. It is paid tax free. But the Inland Revenue in England tax me on it.
What am I missing that I have to pay tax? How should I rearrange my affairs for it not to be taxed? It must be possible as the head of Northern Rock can do it.

As a shareholder of Northern Rock I would like the opportunity to vote against Sandler and his sidekicks obscene pay rates.
I would also like Applegarth to be held to account for why he deserved so much of NRs cash.
You get what you pay for?
These monkeys like large peanuts

What exactly is your point?? Are you saying that non doms are incapable of running financial organisation?

Or are you trying to move from your business brief into a poitical brief?

I take back my comment from a couple of days ago that Robert Peston only has about a weeks worth of stories left on Northern Rock.

His ability to weave NR into any story is just uncanny. There were 9,000 jobs created at Asda today (a news item tucked away in the corner) but as obviously some NR employess shop at Asda, then I'm sure there'll be a Grim Reaper Asda article soon.

Isn't it time to go away and write the NR book and for the 大象传媒 to report on something else?

I am surprised at the widespread adverse comment on Mr Sandler's salary. For the job and in the difficult circumstances of NR it is actually quite a modest salary.
However, it will be a waste of money if he is not allowed to do his job objectively because of political interference.

Does the fact that Mr Sandler now works for the Government mean he can appoint his wife as FD,his son as part time Marketing guru and award the cleaning contract to his Aunt Doris ?

#72 Jerome is, I suggest, typical of the reaction we should expect from a significant number of non-doms.

There was a very good reason why this issue has been 'parked' at the Treasury since at least 1963, and that is because it is in the 'very difficult' category.

Two things, the amount of revenue that would be raised by the non-dom tax is trivial and the amount lost, as evidenced by Jerome's comments will be significant.

Although those so-called 'extremely clever people' at the Treasury are supposed to work all this out before applying a given tax.

Can we see the figures involved in the Treasuries calculations?

Hell would be more likely to freeze over first.

Worse, this non-dom tax is exactly where a mis-guided political dogma can lead.

The long suffering English PAYE taxpayer has just become an even bigger-mug-of-all-time.

Jerome... Just before you go can you tell us - apart from employing a secretary and a nanny - what you actually contributed to this country?

I think the real question should be how did the government find a bank chief executive not in other employment and the answer is that they have put someone in the position with no knowledge of retail banking. This is shaping up to be a complete disaster.

I am surprised that Ron Sandler can live and work in the UK since the 1980鈥檚 and still maintain his non-dom status. Surely after all that time his domicile (as well as his residence) is actually in the UK and should be treated so for tax purposes, thereby requiring him to pay UK tax on his overseas earnings?

THE big story is about Granite Finance.... and the prime mortgages it has...

Hope you are working on this Robert.

Also : - See >

It makes interesting reading.

The unions had it spot on - why should we in the UK be concerned about these wealthy individuals who take advantage of our tax laws? Are we saying the only way we can get investment is by offering freebies? I noticed that the US has no such loophole - and they are the most 'free market' and 'legislation loose' democratic economy in the world. This country becomes more and more unjust the more that it's looked into. I have just off-shored my salary through a tax specialist, I now pay less than 22% on a gross salary of 拢103,000. Whilst disgusted with myself it was quite an eye opener when I discovered that my tax specialist only works for high wealth individuals (footballers, media stars, investment bankers) who earn a lot more than I do. Does no-one think it's criminal that they are paying proportinately less tax than a cleaner? - oh and it's all quite legal by the way, it is disclosed to the Inland revenue. This country really did inherit the "every man for himself" attitude of the Thatcher government of the 80's. The difference now is that it's less obvious to the common man. I would be happy to pay a progressive tax, but not if there are people far wealthier than myself who are avoiding it.

All of bafoons who keep lashing out at Robert Peston need to wake up to reality. Would you rather prefer that Northern Rock operated a business model that is PROVEN to not withstand cyclical turbulence in the market, and for you to know nothing of it? Markets work at their most efficient when information flows freely. Why did you then start queuing up and withdraw all your funds, if you had the same faith and trust you had in NR before it went to BoE? You should be lucky that someone had the guts and journalistic sense to break this story to the general public. Your precious NR is probably in better hands now than it ever was (at the cost of the rest of the nation), and you should thank the Robert for that!

Taxpayers are footing this bill because the government ignored persistent warnings that NRK was in trouble throughout the whoe of 06 nd into 1H 07 way before there was any problem in the US.

Arguing about Ron Sandler's 'excess' now is superfluous; we should be blaming the government for this mess. Tripartite/trischmartite.

For Darlimg and the PM to stand and have te gall to say this is the best deal for the taxpayer simply beggars belief. The best deal is not one where the tax payer picks up the tab.

Hey Pesto

Whats your take on Granite and NR.
Any numbers to crunch?

Robert, talking of nom-dom status, what's going on with Granite ?

If this part of Northern Rock hasn't been nationalised with the rest, is it still owned by the listed Northern Rock ?

Undoubtedly the hedge funds (SRM and RAB) have taken a hit but has the government done them a favour by getting shot of the dodgy parts for them ?

And so what if they are 'non-doms'? When did that become a crime Mr Peston? They work in the finance sector and know how to make it work for them. Perhaps they may be able to use their obvious knowledge of financial matters to help turn around Northern Rock?

However, I suspect that would not suit your particular agenda which appears to be helping to hasten the onset of a recession by embarking on a course of unbalanced, irresponsible reporting designed to incite a sense of panic in the public and by extension the stock market. By all means report on the Northern Rock situation but please try to take a more reasonable approach.

I find the apparent satisfaction you take in this entire story slightly distasteful. I had always believed journalists to be a public safeguard but I have to wonder how much of your coverage has been inspired by a sense of personal aggrandizement and a desire to be the commentator who, when everything went bad, said 鈥淚 told you so鈥� the loudest.

Please don鈥檛 think that I believe you to be solely responsible for the media coverage of the economic situation (and Northern Rock in particular) it is simply that of those responsible you are currently the most irritating.

One of the worst things about blogging is taking the hit from your critics. Its makes one very uncomfortable and introspective.

Take heart though you are doing all the right things and concentrating on things that matter the most.

The use of non doms in the NR story is highly political but from an editorial perspective it is a grey area between finance and politics that the 大象传媒 does not cover well.

Nick Robinson for instance should make better use of this grey area but his finance skills are not as sharp as your own. He is also handicapped by dealing with politicians in person so he has to tread a fine line.

Your blog on the other hand is usually in the third person so you have more room to manoeuvre.

Perhaps you should both team up to cover this grey area especially now that things are about to get interesting.

#72 - an interesting post. I wonder however what additional attraction your new country offers? After all, you are living here now. For the sake of a 'paltry' 拢30k you are giving up whatever it was that attracted you here. Hardly a logical argument is it?

The UK is the only major western country that has this "non-dom" exemption for rich foreigners. Why do we need it? Surely we should compete on an equal footing with countries like Germany, France and the USA if we want to attract rich foreigners. The proposals from Labour and Tories to tax non-doms work directly in favour of the richest non-doms, by limiting their tax to 拢30000 (or 拢25000 from the Tories), a drop in the ocean for them. Surely it is in the long-term interests of the UK to stop this huge and unique tax exemption for the likes of Abramovich and other dubious rich foreigners?

AVITW 's comments are spot-on. I can understand the resentment of your readers about non-dom tax stauts, however, the majority of us are not rich tax avoiders and we do pay tax on income we earn in the UK.

I am a university professor working in the UK but I am a US citizen. I am perfectly happy to pay my share of tax, however, if I do some conslting in the US, I will be liable for tax in BOTH countries.

Also, if I spend six months working in the US (on academic sabbatical) and six months in the UK, I will be taxed again in BOTH countries - making an effective top tax band of 75%. How many UK-domiciled tax payers pay this rate?

The proposed legislation violates the US-UK Tax Treaty which precludes double taxation and conflicts with that treaty.

Essentially, it means, for example, if I make 拢1,200 consulting in the US during the year, I will have to pay 拢30,000 to avoid being double taxed. How fair is that?

I see we now have a new owner of NR. Granite trust in Jersey.
I wonder where they came from, I have no doubt Robert Peston can tell us.

regards

FYI
Non Dom's have to pay tax on their UK income.
Why this tendentious reporting is necessary is beyond me. Either Mr Peston does not know what he is talking about or he is just regarding the NR disaster as his personal show. He should regard NR as his peronal lucky brake, which he does by the looks of it. My advise to Mr Peston: "milk it whilst you can!"

Robert,

Throughout this "wreckage" I have been pointing out that we the taxpayers are being kept in the dark about Granite and the quality (???)of the loans remaining on the books.

The time has come for some proper facts from the government that provided taxpayers funds on the basis of getting it all back and slowly moving the goalposts to "minimising the loss to the taxpayers".

The National Audit Office must publish its report before nationalisation is considered.

Have you got any facts to publish rather than commentating on the issues?

Incisive Robert, and your point is??

Sandler should pay normal tax like the rest of us. The UK is the only major western country to give these huge tax concessions to rich foreigners, many of whom have dubious backgrounds, and the proposal to cap their future incoome tax on foreign earnings at 拢30000 pa is an outrageuos preference deliberately to favour them. Btw, earnings within the UK have always been subject to full UK income tax for non-doms as well doms, so obviously Sandler has to pay tax on this part of his income/investments.

Let's look a little closer to home for government workers who pay less tax that we do.

A certain disc jokey in the 大象传媒 (who has been attracting a lot of attention lately) lives in the Isle of Man, perhaps paying less tax. I have asked for a list from the 大象传媒, but they are being secretive.

If you draw your wages from normal taxpayers, you should need to pay normal tax yourself. That's the bottom line.

To David Scott, comment #124. I agree with the principle behind what you are saying. The concept of domicile, though, means that as long as Mr Sandler retains sufficient links to his place of origin (e.g. having property there, maybe some family there, an intention ultimately to return there one day) he will retain his domicile there. There is a concept of "deemed domicile", in which a person is deemed to be UK domiciled (nothwithstanding their actual domicile) if they are UK resident for 17 or more out of 20 successive tax years, but that only applies for inheritance tax purposes. I personally thought that the Treasury would end up going down the route of broadening deemed domicile to other areas of tax; instead they went for this rather bizarre 拢30,000 charge which makes little sense and will in practice be difficult to operate and levy.

Hey Robert, a good positive piece of news, retail sales bounced back in January, and underlying growth remains steady. Care to comment?

European law says that government can not take property (Northern Rock shares) of someone unless its in the public interest and if they do they must pay fair market value for this property.

Fair market value is defined as:

鈥淔air market value鈥�, a central standard of measuring business value, is defined as the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller when the former is not under any compulsion to buy and the latter is not under any compulsion to sell, both parties having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts. See IRS Rev. Rul. 59-60, 1959-1,. Bulletin 237, codified at 26 C.F.R. 搂 20.2031-1(b).

The fair market value standard incorporates certain assumptions, including the assumptions that the hypothetical purchaser is reasonably prudent and rational but is not motivated by any synergistic or strategic influences; that the business will continue as a going concern[2] and not be liquidated; that the hypothetical transaction will be conducted in cash or equivalents; and that the parties are willing and able to consummate the transaction.

These assumptions might not, and probably do not, reflect the actual conditions of the market in which the subject business might be sold. However, these conditions are assumed because they yield a uniform standard of value, after applying generally-accepted valuation techniques, which allows meaningful comparison between businesses which are similarly situated.

Some of the posts on this item seem to have a serious case of "shooting the messenger"!!

NR could not borrow to replace the loans it had when they fell due. The loans were short term borrowings of 1 - 3 years which NR then lent on 25 year mortgages.

Assuming that the credit crunch would freeze inter bank lending for a minimum of 12 months meant that NR needed to borrow up to 拢50bn every 12 months to replace/roll over their borrowings, and the brutal truth was that no other bank wanted to loan NR the money.

The only avenue open was the BoE and that meant a Government backed rescue. If NR was a chemical/engineering/or any other non banking company, receivers would have been appointed to wind up the company and all the shareholders would have lost their money as well as most other creditors.

If you cannot meet your obligations as they fall due, then you are bankrupt.

Listening to NR shareholders screaming that their company has been "stolen" is a sick joke. They gambled and lost. That is what happens when you buy shares in any company and it goes bust.

Live with it, and stop venting your anger on the messenger.

If the BoE is the lender of last resort then lend, don't nationalise. Currently the problem is a cashflow issue not a profitability one. Is assets are even larger than its liabilities, just less liquid. Eventually credit flow will resume, NR can run down its liabilities and increase its (depositors) assets and the BoE can wind down its funding. The Tories are considering a Chapter 11 style solution, but is this even necessary if the BoE is willing to lend as it must do in this specialised (bank) case?

Re comment 126, it says it all really. When immensely wealthy (and often very dubious) foriegners flock to live here because of tax loopholes, all NL can do to combat it is take a crap tory idea, a flat rate levy which is of course inherently regressive and would hurt non-doms on moderate incomes but be a drop in the ocean to the real tax dodgers.

In response to Covey #145; I'm afraid shooting the messenger is sometime necessary. I think specifically of a TV news item with former 大象传媒 Economics Editor, Peter Jay, who spoke on the 大象传媒 recently (on the 40th anniversary of the 1967 devaluation of the pound). He said in 1967, after he had left his job as a civil servant in the Treasury to move into journalism he was contacted by a Treasury official with a strange request for the safe box combination where the 'Devaluation War Book' protocol was kept. He said the phone message was particularly cryptic to avoid eves-droppers realising the significance of the request and the implied government preparation for devaluation. He decided that as a matter of national importance he would not report on the significance of such foresight as it could be detrimental to the national good. He then went on to say today's journalists do not have as many scruples in weighing the professional benefits of breaking news to that of the ethics of not doing so. Whereas he made the decision not to, other are not so shy.

A radio version of the TV story i refer to is 17mins 9secs into this 大象传媒 radio broadcast -
/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today3_eightthirty_20071117.ram

wotcha make of this Robert?

You want me to leave?
I am a US citizen running a business here and in the US.
I earn 拢60k here and pay roughly 拢23k in tax via PAYE.
I earn 拢40k in the US ($80k usd) and pay around 拢12k income taxes.

So on 拢100000 worldwide earnings that is an effective rate of 35%, pretty much what joe average would work out as.
The UK now wants another 拢30k. Flat. No graded percentage.
That makes it 65% tax, or 89% of my UK earnings.
For my wife it works out at over200%!!
Please explain how exactly this is "fair".
As for those that say "pay or get lost" then fine i will get lost. And take the 25 jobs,the 拢220k of paye revenues, 拢460k of VAT revenue and 拢10k of corporation tax that my business generates with me.
After all i can run a website from anywhere can't I?
This blog is full of ignorance and hatred of anyone who is not on welfare.

#107
I wonder if Ron practised his engineering skills before gaining his business skills.
If he did then he made the right career move!

Robert - I think we are now all clear on what you should have done. After discovering that a bank that was about to be bailed out with untold billions of taxpayers money and with whom over a million people had savings and mortgages, and which employs 6,000 people, was in very serious trouble because of serious strategic errors by management, in a market that was about to see a restriction of credit availability and chronic share price falls, you should have cloaked yourself in self-censorship. Presumably in the same way that the media should have stayed silent during Black Wednesday so as not to encourage the currency speculators. In fact every day I come across information in the media that is harmful to the Government's reputation and I think that if I didn't know that information then it couldn't hurt me, so I shouldn't be informed of that either.

Re 147: people who take advantage of the UK's rules by becoming resident but not domiciled in the UK are not tax dodgers! Their tax treatment is completely in accordance with the relevant laws, and does not rely on shady underhand practices. Why do you think that they are "often very dubious"? To be sure, there are a number of quite high profile non-doms with a less than savoury reputation, but these characters are a small minority of the total. What evidence is there that the rest are not hard-working, often high-earning, individuals who pay tax in full on their UK-source earnings, thereby contributing to the UK economy and the overall tax take?

If we were starting from scratch designing the UK tax system we might well not include the concept of being non-domiciled, but as we aren't the right question to ask must be whether changing the law will do more economic harm than good. Assuming for the sake of argument that if the law were changed as proposed a significant number of non-doms would leave the UK and, perhaps more importantly, fewer would come to the UK in the future, the net result would surely be a decrease in revenue for the Treasury. We might have a "fairer" tax system, or at any rate one more acceptable to the current political climate, but one that would overall leave us worse off.

I think the government should have left NR to go bankrupt and not spend good money after bad trying to bail it out. All the savers must have known that the accounts are covered up to 拢35000 and shareholders should have known that the stock market is risky.
As for the employees well no job is ever secure, we all know that.
We should brace ourselves for tax hikes and poorer public services...

Mr Sandler, paid 拢90k per week for his expertise, has said that for borrowers it is "business as usual". For that kind of money, I'd expect him to have a better grasp of the reality many of his mortgage customers are facing. He could pay my mortgage off with less than a month's earnings...

Poll taxes should always be resisted as, while they have the beauty of simplicity, they are by their nature inequitable.

However I am as disturbed as ever by Robert Peston's seeming insistence that the only valid perspective in judging an issue is whether it is good for the economy - and the economy for Mr Peston seems to consist of a small number of very rich people.

It is a loss for all of us that his undoubtedly brilliant analysis is so hampered by a lack of a wider perspective.

Is it not always the same, well/overpaid "executives" being employed to run a company into the ground, half of these people just use this to add another line to their CV's and are employed in these positions because they can read a P&L sheet, when if fact to run the business well they actually need to KNOW something about the industry they are coming into.
It amases me when I see directors and chairmen leap-frogging from one company to another, where the only common factor would be an excell spread sheet, it a pile of pants. anyhow whats 90K a month when some guy who can hardly string 2 words together and kicks a ball from one end of a field to another is on 125K a week. Don't get me started.
Anton

Given the magnitude of the task in front of him together with the staggering sums of money at risk then it seems churlish for certain people to queery how much Ron Sandler is being paid and whether or queery if he is only paying tax as a non dom person.

Providing he achieve's the governments objectives and within the agreed time frame then he will have earned it. So let us all wish him and his team the best of luck and leave them alone to get on with it.

A week gone by and you haven't found any more bad news to work people up with. Time to collect your p45 mr preston.

hahaha

When Ron Sandler was first appointed Executive Chairman of the newly nationalzed NR, one journalist asked him whether he was embarrassed at being paid a "footballer sized salary".
This to me indicates that we have got our priorities all wrong. Why should somebody employed to run a multi-billion pound organisation not be paid far more than someone who kicks a football round for a few hours a week?
Mr Sandler if he manages to pull NR round deserves all the money he gets

1. If he is going to pay tax on the UK salary that should surely be OK as that will be about 拢36,000 per month in Tax, the equivelant of over 50 average earners, how much more do you want him to pay?

2. As to whether he is worth it, as the Government has already handed a private company and its shareholders serveral billion of our taxes what difference does his 拢1.08m PA make in the whole scheme of things.

Never have so few taken so much from so many...
Even Winston Churchill would turn in his grave to witness the moral and material decline of this once proud nation.