New Tax Evasion loophole deemed "unsavoury" but "completely legal":

Unhappy with the 40% tax rate imposed on him as a sole proprietor, David Scanlon of Peterhead, Scotland decided to take advantage of the lax compensation regulations to join the many people in the UK living off lump sums provided tax free through lawsuits against their employers. In an interview he relayed:

"It's completely unfair that people who actually work for every penny they earn get charged under the same tax rates as directors for companies like BT and Hydro Electric who can simply give themselves whatever salary they like and pass the cost on to the consumer. Generally speaking, for every £1000 I bring in I only get £505 of it. It's ridiculous!"

Many self employed individuals, who struggle to meet the demanding percentages imposed on their revenue, are becoming more outspoken especially in light of the many government subsidies given to larger UK businesses. The founder of "Lie-abilities", a charity setup to lobby against poorly qualified but highly paid company directors spoke to us:

"These people, like Tony Sulman of Claims Direct, Mark Langford of The Accident Group and Adam Applegarth of Northern Rock, simply bleed the companies dry and take off leaving their customers holding the bill. Not only does the government ignore these problems, but they even gave Adam Applegarth a £760,000 goodbye present. The rich get richer is an understatement!"

So what solution did David Scanlon come up with? To sue himself ... or rather, his company. He explained:

"It wasn't that complicated really. I set up a Limited company, hired myself as an employee and just did my job (computer programming). Once I had built up £500,000 in revenue I had an 'accident' which left me with permanent back pain and unable to do my job. I sued the Limited company I worked for who paid out £500,000 in compensation for my injuries. I then declared the Limited company bankrupt and closed it."

A simple but effective plan as compensation claims are not taxed. Had Mr. Scanlon filed his tax return without having his 'accident' he would have had to pay around £250,000 to the government. We were unable to get a response from the Inland Revenue.