Copyright bbc
Boxes of snails have been found in central London offices by council officers investigating tax avoidance schemes. Crates of gastropods have been discovered in the past in what Westminster City Council described as "unscrupulous traders" trying to claim agricultural business tax exemptions by saying they were running snail farms. Council leader Adam Hug says the recent discovery, at two buildings in Old Marylebone Road, "vividly illustrates an issue of business rates avoidance based on a ludicrous notion". Under UK tax law, agricultural buildings and fish farms are exempt from paying business rates if they are viable commercial businesses. The government has been asked for comment.
