Following David Gauke's, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, outrageous statement that it was 'morally wrong' for members of the public to pay tradespeople in cash, a political blogger attempted to further expose Gauke's hypocrisy (we footed his Stamp Duty in 2006/07).
Paul Staines aka Guido Fawkes last week posted the following 99 word on his site, Order-Order.com:
'This morning Guido named and shamed Treasury minister David Gauke – in his own words – as “morally repugnant” to be criticising others for their tax arrangements, but it doesn't stop there. It turns out that Gauke's wife Rachel is a professional support lawyer for Lexis Nexis, a company which boasts of its ability to “support every tax practitioner on the front line as they deal with the tax collector”. According to her personal profile Rachel “specialises in corporate tax law…. and has advised on corporate restructurings, M&A, investment funds and finance.” Sounds like it an awkward weekend in the Gauke household…
Lexis Nexis, a leading business media group, came out in defence of Rachel Gauke however, stating that the blog entry had misrepresented the role of one of its staff members.
Mrs Gauke is a professional support lawyer for Lexis Nexis, who publish both Taxation and Tax Journal. They stated, 'Rachel Gauke produces content for LexisPSL, which is an online tool that guides lawyers through the workings of the UK tax code. She does not advise individuals or companies on how to avoid tax or reduce their tax bills.'
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