Amongst the wierd things produced by Government are Statutory Instruments. Recently published : the Northern Rock plc Transfer Order 2009 and the Northern Rock plc (Tax Consequences) Regulations 2009.
The Orders were laid by two Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury. These grand sounding gentlemen are listed as Steve McCabe and Dave Watts. (Because of the very odd nature of our structures, they are not in fact finance ministers but Government Whips who handle Labour Party discipline at Westminster)
The Orders transfer assets from what's described in them as ACo (Northern Rock plc) to BCo (Gosforth Subsidiary No1 plc) without tax liability. Then ACo will be renamed Northern Rock (Asset Managemetn) plc and BCo will become Northern Rock plc.
Confused? That may well be the intention!
In effect, the "good" assets of Northern Rock are being transferred to a new company, leaving behind a "bad bank", which is the one we have/had shares in (recently declared worthless by the £4.5 million paid value - I forecast this at the time he was appointed, could have saved the taxpayers the money)
The "good bank" will be the one this Government tries to flog off to "beardie" Branson or Tesco.
If American experience is anything to go by, the "bad bank" will eventually turn in a surplus for the taxpayer too.
But then we always knew we were being ripped off.....
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