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They say that tax doesn’t have to be taxing, but I’ll confess it taxes my brain. I remember I just about got to grips with VAT and inheritance tax, but after that it’s all a bit of a blur… Maybe the internet can help?
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So begins my most recent web review for the Journal, entitled “Totally Tax” – which looks at tax law resources – plus the Robin Hood Tax website.
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While some eyebrows may be raised at a publicly funded body generating [a £1.5 Million] surplus in its first year of operation, the Government cannot be allowed to interfere with its internal decisions. The [Scottish Legal Complaints Commission] is accountable to Parliament, not to Ministers.
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So says my latest Yell.com solicitors blog, which is called Complaints Commission complains.
The SPL split is causing even more controversy this year than last and Motherwell FC are contemplating legal action, according to sports broadcaster ESPN. The site states: “Motherwell … are ready to launch a legal appeal after they were handed a third away match to Celtic in the post split games. Fir Park chairman John Boyle is fuming as his club will end up playing 20 away matches and 18 home fixtures this season.”
Meanwhile, an official statement from the board on the club’s own website states merely that “All avenues of protest will be considered.”
I noticed this very funny exchange on Yahoo! Answers…
Kerian asks “I live in scotland have a degree on law and wont move to the usa?
would be able become lawyer how would i get there would this be easy etc.”
Responses included:
Nice. For what it’s worth, Kerian, I’d recommend an aeroplane. Unless you really do mean you won’t move to the usa, in which case, probably just stay here then.
LOL, as I believe the kids are saying these days.
A fascinating article in the Scotsman on election law. Believe it or not, but the amounts which can be spent on campaigning are tightly controlled (much more so than in other countries).
However, notwithstanding these rules, we have already received illegal anonymous election communications in our constituency, and I’m told that the police are investigating.
Finally, I ran some figures through the BBC’s election seat calculator, just to give an indication of how fair the voting system isn’t. What, I wondered, would be the result if each party received 33.3% of the vote? It turns out that Labour would get 316 MPs, Conservative would get 209 MPs and Lib Dems only 101 MPs. Nice.
I tread carefully into the murky waters that are the City of Edinburgh’s tram project disputes with this month’s Yell.com blog post: “Edinburgh tram project costs dispute“.
It occurs to me that the resultant road works have so slowed the traffic in and around Edinburgh anyway, that when the trams finally arrive the impression of a much improved transit in the capital will be pretty much automatic.
Yet another Yell.com blog post, this time on the subject of “Family Lawyers Reject Legal Aid”.
A sample for you:
“The main purpose of SLAB is to restrict the flow of money to solicitors still public spirited enough to do work for clients who cannot afford private fees. Actually, I’m joking – that isn’t their main role at all. But they are quite good at it, nonetheless.”
I can do satire, me!
I note that Frances Curran, former MSP and ex-colleague of Tommy Sheridan, has been unsucessful in a defamation claim against the Daily Record. Ms. Curran claimed that a Daily Record article in the wake of Mr. Sheridan’s sucessful claim against News International defamed her.
The article, published on 7 August 2006 was titled “I’ll destroy the scabs who tried to ruin me.” and Ms. Curran considered that to apply the term ” scab” to her was to accuse her of of personal immorality or base motives. She also complained that a description of her entering court to give evidence with a smile on her face implied that she had perjured herself.
The judge however dismissed the claim, holding that, in the context, the term “scab” referred only to allegations of political disloyalty, that there was no implication to be reasonably drawn from noting that she smiled on entering court, that as the holder of public office (at the time) more latitude was given to comment and criticism, and that the article constituted “fair retort” to a statement by the faction SSP United Left with which she was associated and which included the following:
“Tommy has lied his way through this court case and we want no part in that.”
“There is no plot, no frame up of Tommy Sheridan, the idea only exists in his paranoid imagination.”
So, I think what the judge was getting at was that people in glass houses shouldn’t call the kettle black (or something).
Anyway, you can read it all for yourself here:
Frances Curran v. Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Limited [2010 CSOH 44].
Absolvitor isn’t really a political blog, but the election’s coming up, so we’ll probably stray a little from time to time. Up front, I’m a member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and have been since I helped my friend Ian Binnie in the 6th year mock elections at Hermitage Academy (1992) and actually had to read the manifesto!
Anyway, I was amused to get a Labour leaflet through the door today with the slogan “Vote Lib Dem get Tory…”. To back up its claims, the leaflet had a list of “Local Councils Controlled by Tory-Lib Dem Deals”, which I though was a little strange given that it was delivered to my house, which is in the area of a local Council controlled by a Tory-Labour deal!!!
Obviously, Labour’s local campaign team have all had their irony glands removed! I’m probably still going to try the old “vote Lib Dem get Lib Dem” theory anyway.
Frank Maguire, senior partner at Thompsons Solicitors is a very well respected and senior figure in the Scottish legal world. He is quoted in today’s Herald, raising his concerns about the proposed introduction of Alternative Business Structures – otherwise known as “Tesco Law”.
He raises the spectre of the Mob or drug barons owning and running their own legal services operations, and using them to launder money (or worse). This is even more of a concern because, as he points out, the financial memorandum for the Legal Services Bill sets aside only a paltry £1,300 for criminal record checking.
Very real concerns, but how can the voice of reason make itself heard above the babble of everyday life? Well, if you believe the caption accompanying Frank’s photo in the Herald’s website, by organising a protest outside Westminster Cathedral! Slightly unusual choice, but it certainly caught my attention.
Absolvitor: Scots Law Online 