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I don't understand why British news outlets have started to try and "shame" certain corporations over their tax returns. The practice has been known and used fo

I don't understand why British news outlets have started to try and "shame" certain corporations over their tax returns. The practice has been known and used for many years, yet it's suddenly deemed newsworthy. I'm really surprised the BBC felt the need to report on this.

DanBC 14y ago
News has fashion, and tax avoidance is fashionable at the moment. Partly that's because government has made announcements about it, and partly because we're in austerity measures.
- jwdunne 14y ago
  It's also very interesting to note that we have a cabinet who have themselves been involved in fiddling with their tax returns. The very same who have proposed and implemented big austerity measures. I think it's good the public are aware what is happening with tax from corporations to cabinet ministers to the people. I know a few who wouldn't have any idea this is a standard thing and probably outraged that the public are being hammered for tax and large corporations pay relatively little in comparison (and if they don't, they may have it waivered). There is another one about how Vodafone owed around £6 billion in tax and it was let waiver whilst big crackdowns on tax cheats were in progress. I might have my facts wrong here but most people I speak to about say the same thing: "it's unfair". This also may be terribly biased though, most people I speak to are working class and support Labour. On the flipside, I can imagine some kind of rebound effect if any sort of big policy was made against it, where big companies are simply less inclined to do business here, with our economy suffering as a result since we're £100m out of pocket rather than £6bn up per co. I don't know much about politics or economics, I merely reiterate what the majority of people say about it all and my own perspective. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
trevelyan 14y ago
Subsidiary companies often reduce their profitability by licensing or purchasing materials from a parent company located overseas in a low-tax region. While this is usually a relatively legal way of transferring some profitability abroad, most countries also have regulations which specify that the relative contributions of various entities in complex corporate structures have to be reasonable and reflect the location where value is created. So while things are murky with IP licenses, increased news coverage and public pressure can succeed in calling attention to particularly egregious situations.
polymatter 14y ago
I'm of the opinion this is always newsworthy. Its completely outrageous how huge multinationals earning hundred of millions in profit can get away with paying less tax than mom and pop businesses. I don't see how "the practice has been known and used for many years" means that that means its case closed. Maybe there is a minority of people who want to discuss whether this makes sense in the current context and in the constantly changing fabric of business ethics. If this is not interesting to you, then fine, ignore it. But please be assured that some people do find it interesting.

DanBC 14y ago

News has fashion, and tax avoidance is fashionable at the moment. Partly that's because government has made announcements about it, and partly because we're in austerity measures.

jwdunne 14y ago
It's also very interesting to note that we have a cabinet who have themselves been involved in fiddling with their tax returns. The very same who have proposed and implemented big austerity measures. I think it's good the public are aware what is happening with tax from corporations to cabinet ministers to the people. I know a few who wouldn't have any idea this is a standard thing and probably outraged that the public are being hammered for tax and large corporations pay relatively little in comparison (and if they don't, they may have it waivered). There is another one about how Vodafone owed around £6 billion in tax and it was let waiver whilst big crackdowns on tax cheats were in progress. I might have my facts wrong here but most people I speak to about say the same thing: "it's unfair". This also may be terribly biased though, most people I speak to are working class and support Labour. On the flipside, I can imagine some kind of rebound effect if any sort of big policy was made against it, where big companies are simply less inclined to do business here, with our economy suffering as a result since we're £100m out of pocket rather than £6bn up per co. I don't know much about politics or economics, I merely reiterate what the majority of people say about it all and my own perspective. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

trevelyan 14y ago

Subsidiary companies often reduce their profitability by licensing or purchasing materials from a parent company located overseas in a low-tax region. While this is usually a relatively legal way of transferring some profitability abroad, most countries also have regulations which specify that the relative contributions of various entities in complex corporate structures have to be reasonable and reflect the location where value is created. So while things are murky with IP licenses, increased news coverage and public pressure can succeed in calling attention to particularly egregious situations.

polymatter 14y ago

I'm of the opinion this is always newsworthy. Its completely outrageous how huge multinationals earning hundred of millions in profit can get away with paying less tax than mom and pop businesses. I don't see how "the practice has been known and used for many years" means that that means its case closed. Maybe there is a minority of people who want to discuss whether this makes sense in the current context and in the constantly changing fabric of business ethics. If this is not interesting to you, then fine, ignore it. But please be assured that some people do find it interesting.