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As far as I am aware, they did not and never have 'filed fraudulent accounts' in the UK. They are not lying, they are not committing fraud, they are not breakin

As far as I am aware, they did not and never have 'filed fraudulent accounts' in the UK. They are not lying, they are not committing fraud, they are not breaking the law. What they are doing is deliberately organising their affairs, subsidiaries and transactions such that the profits they made are actually made in locations where tax is low, e.g. The Netherlands, Ireland, etc. Essentially, they have a company in the UK that 'licenses' certain IP or buys in certain services from their foreign holding. These licenses and services happen to cost as much as they receive in revenue here, so they make no profit in the UK. However their foreign counterpart makes huge profit by selling these licenses and services at a high mark up. This is all, as it stands today, entirely legal. Whether it is moral or not is another issue, and whether it will remain legal is also. However, these kinds of loopholes are almost impossible to stop without huge international co-operation, which isn't really in the other states' interests.

lmm 14y ago
>They are not lying, they are not committing fraud, they are not breaking the law. >Essentially, they have a company in the UK that 'licenses' certain IP or buys in certain services from their foreign holding. These licenses and services happen to cost as much as they receive in revenue here, so they make no profit in the UK. I know. I think they are lying about these prices, and thereby lying about where their profits are made. As to whether they are committing fraud and/or breaking the law, the MPs will decide that.
- cemerick 14y ago
  When Amazon delivers a £20 book to a lady in Cambridge, how much of that is UK profit? The brand, marketing, procurement, software development, author mindshare, etc. etc. all originate (if not implemented and housed in their entirety) in Seattle. 50%? 10% 1%? Who decides? At the moment, it seems like the answer to that is: each company involved makes some kind of judgment as to what amount of tax paid will get the local authorities, committees, and press off their back.

lmm 14y ago

>They are not lying, they are not committing fraud, they are not breaking the law. >Essentially, they have a company in the UK that 'licenses' certain IP or buys in certain services from their foreign holding. These licenses and services happen to cost as much as they receive in revenue here, so they make no profit in the UK. I know. I think they are lying about these prices, and thereby lying about where their profits are made. As to whether they are committing fraud and/or breaking the law, the MPs will decide that.

cemerick 14y ago
When Amazon delivers a £20 book to a lady in Cambridge, how much of that is UK profit? The brand, marketing, procurement, software development, author mindshare, etc. etc. all originate (if not implemented and housed in their entirety) in Seattle. 50%? 10% 1%? Who decides? At the moment, it seems like the answer to that is: each company involved makes some kind of judgment as to what amount of tax paid will get the local authorities, committees, and press off their back.