Everyone’s trying to avoid tax Tory peer

Lord Fink admitted to having transferred shares into family trusts
Lord Fink admitted to having transferred shares into family trusts
DWAYNE SENIOR/THE SUNDAY TIMES

Everyone avoids tax, a major Tory donor declared yesterday as he backed down in his high-stakes row with Ed Miliband.

Lord Fink, a former Conservative party treasurer, retracted a threat to sue the Labour leader over accusations that he avoided tax after admitting to “vanilla” measures to reduce his liability while living in Switzerland.

The peer had accused Mr Miliband of making “untrue and defamatory” claims in the Commons on Wednesday, and threatened to sue.

Lord Fink said yesterday that transferring shares into family trusts was one of the “bland” measures he had taken. He added: “The expression tax avoidance is so wide that everyone does tax avoidance at some level.”

Mr Miliband was also forced to backtrack. His allegation that the Tories were supported