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Ecclestone to pay $800m after pleading guilty to tax fraud (racer.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/formula1@lemmy.world
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[โ€“] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

You're not wrong, but jail time and justice is not what motivates HMRC, or any other revenue department. They want one thing, and one thing only: The money. Putting people in jail costs money, letting rich people 'fess up and pay up is much more lucrative.

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  • [โ€“] 12 points 2 years ago

    Putting people in jail is a deterrent. You do that and rich people start thinking very hard about breaking the law like that because suddenly itโ€™s very much not worth it. They are already rich, losing a few mil is annoying but going to jail is devastating, especially when itโ€™s so easily avoidable.

    And now the rich are paying more taxes and so you make more money. Catching and convicting people of fraud isnโ€™t exactly cheap either, and donโ€™t forget that not everyone will be convicted.

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  • [โ€“] 9 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Why not both? Pay back 400 million, plus interest and jail time?

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