Non-motoring > Not Driving Home for Christmas	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut	Replies: 26

New Mon 22 Dec 25 15:08   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Bromptonaut

Chris Rea has died aged 74. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0q5g3v02qjt Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 15:21   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Fullchat

RIP Chris Rea. A part of Christmas for 40 years and something a bit different from the normal Christmas songs. I wonder if his car did eventually pass its MOT after Christmas? :/ Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 15:55   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Boxsterboy

Yes, sad. His Road To Hell album really summed up the over-consumption zeitgeist of the time. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 16:19   Not Driving Home for Christmas - smokie

Liking the thread title - LOL Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 17:12   Not Driving Home for Christmas - zippy

Lets hope his road goes to the nicer place! :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 21:20   Not Driving Home for Christmas - CGNorwich

"Lets hope his road goes to the nicer place! :-)" Can't but help recalling his words everytime I'm stuck in the queue for the Dartford Tunnel. This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway Oh no, this is the road Said this is the road This is the road to Hell Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 20:44   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Paul 1963

>> Liking the thread title - LOL >> Really? Thought it a little distasteful... Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 22 Dec 25 17:20   Not Driving Home for Christmas - slowdown avenue

god bless him. took his driving test in his dad's ice cream van. real ,rock and roll Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 05:34   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Duncan

I wonder if this will work. www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0WiwB1Cjbg Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 07:27   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Dog

Amazing he lived 74 years considering he nearly died from peritonitis in '94, pancreatic cancer in 2001 and became type 1 diabetic for which he had to take 34 pills and 7 injections per day. If that wasn't enough to finish 'im orf, he had a stroke in 2016. RIP blues man. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 10:57   Not Driving Home for Christmas - John F

As someone who relied on the tax payer for their income, and now does so for their pension, there's no sympathy from me. He must have consumed vast quantities of NHS resources, and yet....... Singer Chris Rea was among a number of celebrities who invested in a tax avoidance scheme (specifically, the Icebreaker scheme)......as a result of the court's decision, those involved, including Rea, faced significant demands for repayment of the tax avoided, plus potential interest and penalties. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 12:03   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Zero

AI says: AI Overview Singer Chris Rea was not publicly named in connection with the "Icebreaker" tax avoidance scheme, which primarily involved other celebrities like the members of the band Take That. The Icebreaker scheme was an "aggressive" tax avoidance scheme that HMRC successfully challenged in court. How it worked: Members invested in limited liability partnerships which claimed to support the music industry to generate large artificial losses. These supposed losses were then used to claim significant tax relief against other income, often many times higher than the actual cash invested. Outcome: A judge ruled that Icebreaker was primarily a vehicle for tax avoidance, not a genuine business venture. Those involved, including Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, and Howard Donald of Take That, were ordered to repay millions of pounds in taxes and penalties. Public reports concerning Chris Rea's financial matters are scarce, focusing instead on his music career and personal life, and do not link him to the Icebreaker scheme. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 13:05   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Kevin

The names of 990 'possible' users of the scheme. gist.github.com/xavriley/aa3d10b1c1db5ff07e52 Chris Rea is not one of them. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 13:05   Not Driving Home for Christmas - CGNorwich

“As someone who relied on the tax payer for their income, and now does so for their pension, there's no sympathy from me. He must have consumed vast quantities of NHS resources, and yet.......” Do you not see the irony in admitting that the taxpayer has funded your income and pension but complaining about a man who would have paid huge amounts of tax but allegedly tried to reduce his tax contribution.? Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 13:35   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Zero

>> Do you not see the irony in admitting that the taxpayer has funded your income >> and pension but complaining about a man who would have paid huge amounts of tax >> but allegedly tried to reduce his tax contribution.? To thrown this on its head, I have alway wondered at the economic madness of the state paying people, and then taxing them. Does it not make economic sense to pay them 20/40% less, and make it tax free? Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 13:59   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Lygonos

The "state" rarely pays anyone directly - various Boards, bodies, Quangos, etc do the employing. Many of those feed into the private sector to provide (often crappy) services. Serco, Capita: "Hold my tax-payer funded pint" Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 15:32   Not Driving Home for Christmas - CGNorwich

I should think nearly even here is being paid directly by the state in the form of a pension. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 16:24   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Lygonos

Indeed. Though some of us are still closer to 50 than 60 ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 16:28   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Zero

The state pension is not taxed. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 16:36   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Bromptonaut

>> The state pension is not taxed. Not as in PAYE being applied but it is taxable income. I get my pension paid in full but my Occupational Pension will, in future, have only a few pounds of 'free pay'. The rest will be taxed at Basic Rate. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 16:54   Not Driving Home for Christmas - CGNorwich

Of course it's taxed. Admitteldly the tax is not deducted from the actual state pension payment but the State Penison amout is simply added to your taxable income. Effectivley I am paying 40% tax on my state pension. The Government giveth and the Government taketh away Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 17:55   Not Driving Home for Christmas - bathtub tom

It hadn't occurred to me that my £10 Christmas bonus would be taxed. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 18:09   Not Driving Home for Christmas - Bromptonaut

£8 Xmas bonus then? Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 18:22   Not Driving Home for Christmas - tyrednemotional

...or for some, £6 Christmas bonus. (but it isn't taxable - it's tax-free). Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 19:47   Not Driving Home for Christmas - ORB>>

I'm grateful I got me £200 cwp and me tenner. every little helps. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 23 Dec 25 19:46   Not Driving Home for Christmas - CGNorwich

The £10 Christmas bonus is not taxed and nor is the heating allowance unless your income exceeds £35,000 in which case the entire amount of the allowance is clawed back by the Goverment. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 25 Dec 25 10:49   Not Driving Home for Christmas - R.P.

Saw him race his Ferrari at Oulton Park back in the early 90s - When we last moved house (!) found an old school video I took. Kept it, may dig it out. His music appealed to me. Reinds me of again old school dinner parties back in the 80s and 90s - I looked forward to his new albums. Much more than a one hit wonder. Chris DIfford (Squeeze) spoke highly of him and effecively launched Difford's solo career. Reply to this message | Report message