Another Business idea shelled.

[El Presidente]

Many of you know I have a gastronomic love of snails. When I was a lad, dad and I ran a herd of some 600 head of snails from home. OK, I am not sure what the terminology is for 600 snails....but we called them a herd. 

Three years ago I discussed with Grant (my 6 ft 9 brother in law) a scheme to run a  10,000 snail farm  for the local restaurant trade. Grant just retired and was looking for something to fill in time. The tax advantages never crossed my mind 

Blow and behold, those Brits have ruined it for us .......

 

 

'Bogus' snail farms set up to avoid business rates

 

Image source,Getty Image caption,

Westminster City Council says building landlords are also "complicit" in this tax avoidance scheme involving bogus snail farms

ByAurelia Foster

BBC London

• Published
  28 October 2025

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, external from paying business rates if they are viable commercial businesses, external. The government has been asked for comment.

To date, the council says it has lost about £370,000 due to this avoidance scheme, which it says building landlords are also "complicit" in.

Four such "snail farms" have been liquidated by Westminster City Council for non-payment of business rates and the authority said it was trying to wind up a further two through a legal process.

 

Image source,Westminster City Council Image caption,

Rows of boxes containing snails were found laid out in an office building in Marylebone

The council said it had also asked the Insolvency Service to consider banning the directors of these companies from any other future directorships.

But Hug said a new law was needed to give councils the power to shut down avoidance scams quickly, rather than by going to court.

"Rather than unscrupulous traders dropping on one avoidance scheme after another, it would be good to see a general clause on business rate avoidance and evasion which stops these kinds of activities in their tracks," said Hug.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which sets tax policy, has been approached for comment.

Although local authorities are responsible for collecting business rates, The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for deciding whether a property is exempt.

It also carries out checks to assess if properties are being used for legitimate agricultural purposes.

As such, Westminster Council said it was unlikely the VOA would consider these premises to be exempt.

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[JDoughty]

Heliculture is pretty low effort as long as you live in a compatible climate to keep them in outdoors enclosures. I've done it, though not in commercial quantity, just for my own delectation. Buckets and bins with mesh bottoms make hosing off easy; snails make a surprising amount of mess. I did a lot more processing of local wild caught adults than breeding and raising, because that was the easiest, but babies did happen. At least they did when I wasn't raiding and pasteurizing the snail caviar. Cornu aspersum was our local and very common invasive species, and easy to harvest from private unsprayed land and feed up to plumpness on cornmeal and rosemary. Same species as commonly used for escargot, and that would be why they were invasive. A true breeding operation that wasn't easily buttressed with endless wild caught adults ready for harvest after a few weeks of good feed would be more work, but still doable with minimal space and equipment. I'm pretty sure there would be some strict regulations on potentially invasive species farming in some places, though. 

I'm curious how heliculture was manageable in Australia, if that was where you were doing it as a lad? Regulations on species going in and out of there are very stringent. I've had to import a few things from there to the States and some colleagues over there have done the same in reverse, and it's quite the rough go. 

[cnov]

It's hardly surprising this country is going to sh**, when there are still the most ludicrous ways to avoid paying tax. 

I'm pretty sure we have enough snails in the front garden alone to make this viable succession planning. 

 

[Fuzz AI]

@El Presidente Dude...you don't eat them! You grow them for a far more lucrative industry...beauty products!

https://www.wired.com/story/snail-mucin-skincare-sensation

[Chibearsv]

Our governor is probably buying his snails right now.

2018 - Democratic gubernatorial nominee J.B. Pritzker has steadfastly defended the $330,000 property tax break he got in part by disabling the toilets in a Gold Coast mansion he owns — but on Tuesday the billionaire vowed to refund the money to taxpayers.

The surprise announcement comes just one day after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Cook County inspector general has concluded the property tax break was part of a “scheme to defraud.”

Pritzker’s use of the tax break, uncovered by the Sun-Times last year, has dogged him since he launched his run for governor. Gov. Bruce Rauner has aired television commercials lampooning Pritzker as the “Porcelain Prince” and blasted the tactic in speeches and in their first face-to-face debate last month.

“A man who ripped toilets out of his Chicago mansion to dodge his property taxes won’t work to reduce your taxes,” Rauner said in a speech last month. “What sort of person would do that? His behavior shows him to be a person utterly lacking in the integrity and character we need in public office.”

On Tuesday, former Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady joined the chorus of Republicans ridiculing Pritzker, holding a news conference outside the Democrat’s mansion, complete with prop toilets.

 

Toilets were removed and lined up in a Gold Coast mansion owned by J.B. Pritzker just 10 days before the house was inspected for an appraisal as part of the property tax appeals process. | Cook County Inspector General

After the Sun-Times disclosed the findings in Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard’s confidential report on Monday, Pritzker again defended his actions.

“I’ve been saying all along that there are flaws in the property tax system,” Pritzker said Monday. “We followed the rules.”

[El Presidente]

12 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Our governor is probably buying his snails right now.

99.9% of politicians are slimy grubs. All persuasions. 

[Chibearsv]

10 hours ago, El Presidente said:

99.9% of politicians are slimy grubs. All persuasions. 

You know of .1% that are ok? That seems very high. 

[my happy place]

10 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

You know of .1% that are ok?  That seems very high. 

It's usually the new guys.