I’m pretty sure nobody thinks of me as a soft touch. Anyone who has watched me on Dragons’ Den will know that I always speak my mind; if someone’s pitch, product or business plan doesn’t make sense I’ll make sure they know it—if that hurts their feelings then that’s their problem, not mine. I’m also probably one of the most competitive people in the world. I’m a nightmare to play Monopoly with—just ask my kids.
So maybe it will surprise you when I say that if I ruled the world the top of my agenda would be making things fairer. For everyone. And I mean that in a few different ways.
From a business perspective I firmly believe that nobody should have any kind of unfair advantage over anyone else, and if I was in charge I would make sure they didn’t. For example, I would make sure that people can’t use legal loopholes to pay less tax on their business than others. One case I’ve brought up before is people registering as “non-domiciled,” meaning their tax is paid in the country they say they call home, as opposed to the one where they are living and conducting most of their business. The country they have chosen to pay tax in almost always has the lower rate. Funny that. And of course that means more money left over to plough back into the business and get ahead of the competition—all while failing to contribute to the wealth of the country that really deserves those taxes.
And some big companies, particularly those that trade online, do something similar. They will base their business somewhere with low tax, run all the profits through that location, and thereby avoid paying a higher tax to the place they are doing most of their trade. It seems pretty obvious to me what the rule should be: you trade here, you get taxed here.
So legislative fairness, particularly with regard to business, is something that I feel strongly about. As far as possible everyone should have the same opportunities to make a success of themselves. If they choose to squander those opportunities that’s a shame, but it’s their decision and they can’t blame anybody else for it.
Which leads me on to another kind of fairness which we should all be trying for. It’s an unpleasant fact of life that bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it. Wherever possible I think we need to strive to redress that imbalance. That’s why I am so passionate about the charities I’m involved with. I just think that if you’re in a position where you’re able to give someone who has had some horribly bad luck a bit of a helping hand—well, why wouldn’t you?
I’ve met a lot of amazing people as a result. There are the Pilgrim Bandits, who help soldiers who have been badly wounded in action. The charity gets them out and about so that they can continue to enjoy life and challenge themselves. The strength of will and determination these guys show is unbelievable. A few years ago I took part in an expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a fundraising team from the charity. I barely managed it myself and seeing members of our team—soldiers who had lost limbs—take on the challenge was inspiring and humbling.
Recently I flew out to Mexico as part of my commitment to Operation Smile UK, who carry out surgery around the world to repair cleft lips and cleft palates in both children and adults. Imagine being self-conscious about showing the most basic form of human warmth: a smile. Again, if you are in a position to help someone have something that you have always taken completely for granted—why the hell wouldn’t you?
I know that I’m lucky enough to be in a better position to help than most. And I’m not trying to make myself sound like Mr Nice Guy. But I think we all have a responsibility to build a world where people don’t have unfair advantages. A world where people get what they deserve in relation to the work and commitment that they put in. And a world where, when things go wrong for someone, we give them the tools to make it better for themselves.
Just to be clear, that doesn’t apply to Monopoly. If you land on Mayfair when I own the deed and I’ve got a hotel on it, don’t expect me to cut you any slack.
Duncan Bannatyne is a Scottish businessman who appears on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den. His new book is “Riding the Storm: My Journey to the Brink and Back”
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