Just picked up the morning paper and almost choked on my coffee. It looks like the tax man could have to pay the super rich Barclay brothers £1.2 billion over a VAT dispute going back… 40 years.
It was the time this case has been rumbling on that really grabbed my attention. The brothers Barclay are not short of a bob or two. They own the Telegraph newspaper and the Ritz hotel, among other things. But they obviously have the determination of incensed rottweilers when it comes to protecting their cash.
In fact the tax man had coughed up but the brothers decided the way the interest had been calculated wasn’t good enough and took another run at it.
In the book we talk about ‘thinking like a gazillionaire’ and give you some insights into how the very, very, very, very rich, behave with their money. Interestingly they’re not all reckless spendthrifts and as a rule demand a level of service (and compensation) that the rest of us are too darned timid to go for.
Okay the brothers probably spent a king’s ransom on the court case and HMRC is already threatening to appeal against the judgment. BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.
- How many time’s have you made a complaint and fallen at the first hurdle?
- If you don’t get what you want after firing of the first letter or email – do you give up?
- Do you throw yourself at the big business ramparts again and again until they squeal in pain and give you what you want?
That’s what I thought.
Glove up people and think like a Barclay.