I stopped drinking the Starbux stuff.... not over any sort of protest or anything, or the fact that they support left wing ideas.... nope, I could care less about that.

I just have not felt like drinking coffee as much. One cup in the Am..... perhaps a cup after dinner..... that suits me fine. 

Now I hear they are marketing a $7 cup of joe.... hummm... might have to spring $7 just one time to see if it's worth it. I hear that there is a brand of coffee that costs several hundred dollars a pound. Some sort of bird eats the beans.... poops them out, and some poor schmuck picks them out of the poo and cleans them off, roasts them and sells them at a huge profit. They are supposed to be the best tasting beans because they have passed through that bird's digestive tract. 

As far as Starbux showing $0 profit.... yep, I'm totally down with that. I run a company here in the good old US of A and every year... for 21 years now, my company has shown no profit. As long as the company spends every dollar it makes on something that is tax deductible which the feds consider to be a legitimate business expense..... it's all good. That money goes into my pocket (figuratively) and gets taxed and spent... so no harm no foul. 

The laws are set up that way to allow that,  and every business can exploit the laws to their advantage, just like an individual does when they take the deductions and exemptions allowed under law. 

Right now...as it happens to be morning.... I am finishing my one and only cup of Folgers coffee..... good to the last drop...



Oh yeah.... saw a taste test comparison.... cup A and cup B... please sir or madam, tell us what you think... which one is better.... all sorts of folks testing... oh yes, "A" is the richer flavored, tastes more "beany".... cup "B" is the more fulfilling taste....... so it went for 6 different people.... along comes a biker looking dude..... tastes both..looks at the camera and says "they both taste the same to me". 

Turns out it was the same exact coffee, from the same pot in each.... so I'm maybe rethinking that $7 cup of joe.

Wood67


Yes but...

The reason SB and other multi's have 'not' paid tax in the UK is because the rate of corporation tax is lower in other places.  And current law allows for them to register offshore.  Personally I don't see any particular problem with this - it's not illegal, and as an investor in the company I would expect them to make the most effective use of my money.  That's good effecicient accounting practice imo, and allows the company to invest in its growth and long term future rather than handing it to a bunch of people who have a track record of fiscal mismanagement, driven mainly by the need to secure your vote next time.

This is one of the reasons Osbourne announced a further reduction in Corporation Tax this week.  That will firstly encourage more companies to pay tax through the system locally by registering in the UK, and also by extension increase the level of local employment.  Don't forget, all those employees they hire mean that SB are still paying employer NI contributions for them here as well.

Oh, of course once they start paying a greater tax burden here, those cups of Americano will go up another 10p.  So everyone will then complain and blame even more.

It's exactly what I'm saying.
 
The way corporation tax is setup currently it benefits nobody, even if they drop the rate businesses will still contribute 0 to the economy when they can declare their profits in a territory where the tax rate is unrealistically low because it is some principality that is deriving it's entire income from offering ridiculous rates.
 
Corporation tax doesn't work when somebody can offset their property acquisitions against their turnover and claim a zero balance, plain and simple.
 
A simple operating commision for turnover on this territory doesn't have to be prohibitive for business in fact it could be more attractive to know up front what the operating costs here are going to be in relation to turnover.
 
It would ensure business pay something for the priviledge of operating here, it must be worth their while otherwise they wouldn't be here, it could be much less on paper than a tax that is easy to avoid and guarantees some payment from multi-nationals  that we wouldn't otherwise see because it all ends up in the coffers of some principality that doesn't have the complex economy that we have to take care of.
 
So what if Starbucks customers have to pay 10p more to pose underneath the green logo? It might make them believe they are even more exclusive and increase sales.
As more and more international corporations grow bigger than national governments this is going to become a bigger issue and ultimately one that will need addressing on an international level, but someone has got to make a start that works somewhere.

OK I'm done.
 

$1 for McDonald's 20oz coffee (Large).

I'm a big coffee drinker. Besides making it in an aluminum percolator pot over an open fire, McDonald's is one of the best coffee's I've ever had.

I used to get coffee at a local 'gourmet' coffee shop up in Ia. It was very expensive, but I felt I should pay it since I leeched off his free WiFi extensively. This guy knew his coffee. Barrels of different beans, all imported and ground right in front of you. It smelled incredible in there.

One time in the dead of winter, it was -18F and a water main broke. He went to the local Culligan Man store and bought a truck load of bottled water and he was the only coffee shop open in town.

Bub


$1 for McDonald's 20oz coffee (Large).

I'm a big coffee drinker. Besides making it in an aluminum percolator pot over an open fire, McDonald's is one of the best coffee's I've ever had.

I used to get coffee at a local 'gourmet' coffee shop up in Ia. It was very expensive, but I felt I should pay it since I leeched off his free WiFi extensively. This guy knew his coffee. Barrels of different beans, all imported and ground right in front of you. It smelled incredible in there.

One time in the dead of winter, it was -18F and a water main broke. He went to the local Culligan Man store and bought a truck load of bottled water and he was the only coffee shop open in town.

And hd he wanted to charge $10 a cup he would have gotten it...
 
although maybe there a preice gouging laws up there in times of natural disasters?

OK I'm done.

 
Good topic though, and I agree with your points above, if not the original statement.  But it's hard enough getting global agreement on technical standards (PAL/NICAM etc?), let alone cross border tax arrangements.  Besides, can you imagine the EU boys driving a genuinely beneficial tax strategy that doesn't conclude with £200 bottles of wine with all their meals?
 
Sounds really selfish, but I'll probably just sit quietly at home and record some midi...

Guitarhacker

... for 21 years now, my company has shown no profit. As long as the company spends every dollar it makes on something that is tax deductible which the feds consider to be a legitimate business expense.....

That's so wrong, but that's how it works, and I can't say I wouldn't take advantage of every legal tax incentive I could if I owned my own business.

Here's another example ... lets say, for example, you have the house you live in down as a business address. You want to update the kitchen so you go ahead, but it's technically part of your business ... so it's a write off. All perfectly legal. Technically.

I know folks who have never technically owned anything, but they've been in business for 30 years, drive a brand new car every year (one for the wife, one for the hubby, one for each kid), live in million dollar homes that are paid for ... all the time showing they make $20,000 a year. Edit: I know one lady who fits this exact description who is on government assistance and drives a Cadillac Escalade. I'm not making this up for shock value, it's the truth.

And who ends up paying for it really?

Not judging anyone or anything like that, I would do it myself if I owned my own business, but deep in my heart I know it's not right, law or no law.

My brother and I used to get in to it when I worked for him when I hinted at a raise every 4 years. He'd always use the line, "You take home more money a year than I do." Right, I did, but I paid taxes on it, he didn't. I'd be happy with $20,000 a year non-taxable income ... after all my living expenses (house, cars, health insurance, groceries, utilities, repairs ... etc etc) were paid for through the business as a 'business expense' and all I had to piss away my $20G on was personal leisure items.

Oh well, time for my second cup of coffee. :-)

musicman100

Bub


$1 for McDonald's 20oz coffee (Large).

I'm a big coffee drinker. Besides making it in an aluminum percolator pot over an open fire, McDonald's is one of the best coffee's I've ever had.

I used to get coffee at a local 'gourmet' coffee shop up in Ia. It was very expensive, but I felt I should pay it since I leeched off his free WiFi extensively. This guy knew his coffee. Barrels of different beans, all imported and ground right in front of you. It smelled incredible in there.

One time in the dead of winter, it was -18F and a water main broke. He went to the local Culligan Man store and bought a truck load of bottled water and he was the only coffee shop open in town.

And hd he wanted to charge $10 a cup he would have gotten it...

although maybe there a preice gouging laws up there in times of natural disasters?

I'm sure he could have but he didn't.

He was a nice guy and I got to know him pretty well. When I lost my job, I used to go there a lot to get on the net to look for work. I couldn't get net access where I lived out in the country.

I like coffee.


and forum monkeys.

Beagle


I like coffee.


and forum monkeys.

and bad puns?