So yesterday the Shadow Chancellor demanded that people should demand receipts from tradesmen to stop tax avoidance:
Amid growing disarray at the highest levels of Labour Party, the Shadow Chancellor said that asking for a receipt was “the right thing” to do and added that he would crack down on “aggressive tax avoidance” if Labour won the election in May.
"I think the right thing to do if you are having somebody cut your hedge for a tenner is to make sure that they give you their name and address and receipt so there's a record that you paid them," said Mr Balls, speaking to John Pienaar on BBC Radio 5 live.
He also refused to rule out scrapping tax loopholes like “deeds of variation” which the Labour leader used to reduce his family’s inheritance tax bill by altering his father’s will.
But then today the Telegraph reports that Ed Balls and 11 other members of the shadow cabinet claimed expenses for cleaning, gardening or odd jobs without submitting receipts, seriously undermining the shadow chancellor’s own advice.
Is this a case do what I say, not what I do?
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