paulo
Jonbouy
750 outlets in the UK and they make £0 profit here?
At least that's what they tell the tax man in order not to pay a penny in corporation tax.
These people more than the unfortunates that often get the finger pointed at them for not contributing are the true leeches on society.
Oh, and now they've suddenly found a £10m contribution following a public outcry.
We're all being told to tighten our individual belts while multi-national corporates go around exploiting what little is left and answer to nobody but themselves with a little creative accounting.
I get a bitter after taste from that stuff, not for me thanks.
Don't even like coffee personally, so I fail to see what all the fuss is about with various brands - it's all wasted on me.
The way I see the tax issue is that it's the system that is wrong not the companies that play them. There's an awful lot of hypocrisy on this matter - it seems that people think it's perfectly reasonable for Joe Bloggs, the self-employed decorator to employ an accountant to mimimise his exposure to tax, but not ok when big companies do it . Who has honestly never looked at their tax bill or PAYE deductions if you are an employee and resented them ? Certain famous individuals were recently pilloried in the UK for participating in a perfectly legal tax avoidance scheme which resulted in them paying something like 1%. What wasn't mentioned at all was that it was 1% of several millions, which is still far more than the majority of the complainers will have paid. What they/their accountants did is allowed according to the law. Simples.
I don't really see how Starbucks are "leeching" either. They may be using legal loopholes to avoid paying corporation tax, but they are still employing people and contributing to the tax/NI system that way. I don't know how many staff 750 outlets equates to, but it will be a significant number of people who may otherwise be claiming benefits.
It's quite simple really global companies should pay a national premium to operate a territory where they know they are going to make money, a percentage.
Yes people exploit loopholes in the tax system it doesn't make them fair.
As for the employment issue isn't it just a statistical difference between being paid peanuts by a firm like this when there are no jobs that provide real opportunities and provide these companies with greater margins when they can exploit the emotional response of taking them off the unemployment figures.
Simple fair play shouldn't be a difficult ideal to aim at, for builder, account or multi-national alike.
Yes they are leeches when people who end up in real difficulty through no fault of their own have the finger pointed at them for a national shortfall all the while somebody is happily scooping the froth off the top.
How many of these much publicised but rarely seen benefit cheats does it take to catch up with the 20m that Starbucks have now suddenly been able to offer out of 'good-will' for not paying a penny for the last 3 years? They've made that offer simply because the publicity may affect their bottom line. If they were merely breaking even like their figures would suggest why bother trading at all?
If you were to believe popular media as your comments about the contribution they make toward employment would suggest you do, have a look at how McDonalds operate foreign territories. You'd think if you believed what was written they would be among the worst, but because they've been in the game long enough to know it's good business to give something back to the territories they operate in they provide true opportunities through franchising and various other initiatives that have helped prolong their business interests on foriegn shores. It maybe argued they have not done so willingly but clearly they've got more experience at it than this lot.
Embrace the economy you operate in, make it better instead of fleecing it then everyone is a winner. It can be done.
Farmers have known for centuries you have to put as much back into the soil you use to grow on otherwise through constant exploitation (however elegantly or legally done) you quickly end up with a barren dust-bowl. It ain't rocket science.