The snail farm don: is this the most brazen tax avoidance scheme of all time?
7 days ago
- #tax-avoidance
- #mafia
- #snail-farming
- Terry Ball, a 79-year-old former shoe salesman, uses snail farming as a tax avoidance scheme by claiming empty office blocks as farms.
- Ball employs Giuseppe, a convicted member of the Naples mafia, to help manage his snail farms.
- Ball's method involves setting up shell companies to breed snails, exploiting a legal loophole that classifies snail breeding as a fish farm, exempt from business rates.
- Ball has a long history of tax evasion, including phoenixing companies to avoid debts and legal consequences.
- He has connections to the Naples mafia, including hiding a notorious mafia member, Gennaro Panzuto, in rural Lancashire.
- Ball's schemes have been challenged by local councils, but he continues to find new loopholes, such as pop-up charity shops, to avoid taxes.
- Despite legal setbacks and bankruptcy, Ball remains committed to his tax avoidance methods, viewing them as a way to fight against authorities.
- Ball's operations have been investigated by councils and media, but he continues to evade significant legal consequences.