Re: Liquidate company to avoid paying
I have been told by several accountants, on many occasions. that the law states that if a company breaks the law, then, by implication, the contract forming the limited company is broken, and therefore, liability is no longer limited: the shareholders have unlimited liability, although in proportion to their shareholding.
If this is not the law, then it bloody well ought to be.
IF, and ONLY IF it is in the memorandum of association (which I doubt ever happens) the shareholders can pass the liability for criminal action to the directors (as they have legal responsibility for directing what the company does), jointly and severally - meaning that if they can't get the money from some directors, they can still get it from the others - even if one director is forced to pay the whole fine/costs. And even if he resigns before the fine, if it happened on his watch, he is still liable.
This should also be legally enforced.
Remember, we the people consent to the creation of limited companies. We are entitled to have a say in how they behave as a condition of that consent. If your MP does not support YOUR rights over the rights of companies, then you should probably not be voting for him/her, regardless of party affiliation. Companies may be "persons" in law, but they have no votes. You might need to explain this to your MP in words of one syllable.
I write this as the director on several companies. (I don't want to face competition from scum).