Who knew that Boots is now Swiss-owned and probably avoiding around £100m pa UK tax?

Doc_N

Fascinating article in the Guardian today about Boots:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/11/boots-switzerland-uk

Do we really want to be buying anything at all from a company like Boots that now chooses not to contribute its fair share towards UK taxes? Whatever Boots decides not to pay has to come from the rest of us, who have no choice.

In June 2008, after more than a century and a half in the UK, Boots moved out of the country to Switzerland. The British household name had been acquired, along with its parent company, Alliance Boots, in Europe's largest private equity deal in 2007, thanks to £9.3bn of borrowing from banks and other investors. Private equity's gain turned out to be the UK revenue's loss.

Ten years ago the Boots group generally paid about one-third of its profits in UK tax. The Revenue could expect to see a tax charge around the £120-£150m mark each year, with over £100m of that coming from Boots the Chemist.

Then came the move to the low-tax Swiss canton of Zug. Alliance Boots GmbH is now registered at Zug's 94 Baarerstrasse, an address that is home to a post office. After huge interest payments, its worldwide profits last year were £475m. It is hard to see which parts of the company are now making what, but the cashflow statement for the year to March 2010 shows that just £14m was recorded as the tax charge on those profits – that is, just 3% of profits. John Ralfe, the former head of corporate finance at Boots, told us he calculated that, "the UK has lost about £100m a year in tax as a result".

TehJumpingJawa

Meh, never normally shop in boots anyway - everything is overpriced.

DCFC79

Werent the government trying to get the swiss to up they're tax threshold or had i dreamt it

TehJumpingJawa

DCFC79 wrote: »

Werent the government trying to get the swiss to up they're tax threshold or had i dreamt it

That was Ireland wasn't it

Doc_N

TehJumpingJawa wrote: »

Meh, never normally shop in boots anyway - everything is overpriced.

Likewise. Overpriced but undertaxed - great combination.

This lot are now targeting Boots, as well as other tax avoiders like Vodafone and Topshop:


http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/

All power to their elbows........:T

zenseeker

The protests are rather useless, and little more than ego trips for those involved. If a corporation relocates their business to Switzerland, there is nothing the government can do about it, it's the companies free choice and right to do so, and they have no power to make demands on the Swiss government to make an changes to tax rules.

All these protests will succeed in doing is to cause unnecessary and unhelpful delays for those shoppers trying to get some last minute pressies in.

exup

I don't really go in Boots - after their "Here come the girls" TV ad campaign, especially the one with the street full of women charging down the road like something from a Zombie movie, I feel a little uneasy in their stores. *shudder*

Doc_N

And nearly 8000 people support this:

http://www.facebook.com/ukuncut (Direct Action against the Cuts - and targeting companies that won't pay their fair share)

Care to sign up?

Doc_N

zenseeker wrote: »

The protests are rather useless, and little more than ego trips for those involved. If a corporation relocates their business to Switzerland, there is nothing the government can do about it, it's the companies free choice and right to do so, and they have no power to make demands on the Swiss government to make an changes to tax rules.

All these protests will succeed in doing is to cause unnecessary and unhelpful delays for those shoppers trying to get some last minute pressies in.

You're so wrong. There's nothing the Government can do about it, but consumer power counts for an awful lot.

Companies like Boots rely heavily on their 'brand' and if that's damaged, which it is being, it costs them sales and profits. Enough damage and they realise it's costing them more in profits than tax avoided.

BallandChain

exup wrote: »

I don't really go in Boots - after their "Here come the girls" TV ad campaign, especially the one with the street full of women charging down the road like something from a Zombie movie, I feel a little uneasy in their stores. *shudder*

I thought I was the only one to hate that ad. :rotfl:

paulwellerfan

hey i get my bargins.
i dont care.