Big business set to pay less tax - how can this be?

td

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/tax-city-heist-of-century?CMP=twt_iph

How can this pass everyone by without being noticed when the Government are pulling funding from us lesser mortals left, right and centre.

Surely this can't happen?

td

maninthestreet

td wrote: »

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/tax-city-heist-of-century?CMP=twt_iph

How can this pass everyone by without being noticed when the Government are pulling funding from us lesser mortals left, right and centre.

Surely this can't happen?

td

The idea is to let companies keep more of the profits they make, so that it can be re-invested back into the businesses, thereby generating more jobs and providing a stimuls to the economy.

cgk1

maninthestreet wrote: »

The idea is to let companies keep more of the profits they make, so that it can be re-invested back into the businesses, thereby generating more jobs and providing a stimuls to the economy.

It's a nice idea but it's simply not going to happen, we'll find as the US is that this is going to be a largely jobless recovery as instead of employing more people, technology is used and more is expected from each individual work in terms of productivity.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

cgk1 wrote: »

It's a nice idea but it's simply not going to happen, we'll find as the US is that this is going to be a largely jobless recovery as instead of employing more people, technology is used and more is expected from each individual work in terms of productivity.

See this is the problem.. Everyone says things wont work without actually having tried them first.

You just dont know so why not try things to get the country back on its footing properly? If they fail, try something else.. Getting more people into work by lowering business taxes could actually cover them as more people working paying tax/NI = more people spending in the shops and the economy grows.

Or should we all sit back and just wait for something to happen?Or throw money at everything.. because that will work wont it

darkpool

a lot of big companies have moved away from the UK because the corporate tax rate is relatively high in the UK. When they move abroad it means we get no corporation tax at all.

Is that what you want?

Anyone really interested in tax rates against total tax collected just google "laffer curve"

daveyjp

"a lot of big companies have moved away from the UK"

Can you provide a nice long list please?

darkpool

Boots the chemist
topshop
BHS
every shop owned by phill green
Brit Insurance
Shire Pharmateucials
Cadbury

paddyrg

Sounds like a government trying to stop more companies heading offshore. If manufacturing costs are significantly higher here than elsewhere, yet people are not willing to spend more on British-made goods, what the heck else can a company do?

These boards are full of people arguing the toss about if they can buy something from overseas for 50p less - blame them, not the companies, not the government for the loss of British jobs.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

darkpool wrote: »

Boots the chemist
topshop
BHS
every shop owned by phill green
Brit Insurance
Shire Pharmateucials
Cadbury

dont forget Pfizer who may not be a British company but have slowly been moving everything overseas and just announced 2500 job losses at their relitivly new complex down in Sandwich.

Thats 2500 less tax receipts and more going out in benefits and also the business rates for the massive complex....

Azari

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

dont forget Pfizer who may not be a British company but have slowly been moving everything overseas and just announced 2500 job losses at their relitivly new complex down in Sandwich.

Relatively new?

It's been there since the early sixties.

(Famed for being the place where they 'discovered' Viagra. )

bargainbetty

It's worth noting that many of the companies you mention there have moved offshore to take advantage of the complete loophole stating that an offshore firm can earn profits in the UK and pay tax on them in offshore areas - where the tax can be as low as 2% (Cyprus before you ask and I worked in International Business, Tax and Finance for 4 years so there is some knowledge here).

If we changed the loophole to reflect that businesses had to pay a decent rate of tax on UK-based earnings (which the USA did recently to stop people moving so much offshore) you might find that all these people threatening a stampede to the door just shut up and paid. They will still want the UK profits, can still find ways to dodge stuff here and there, and they still like the UK marketplace and the foothold in Europe. Pfizer's work could be done anywhere - any UK retailer cannot make the same assumptions.

They haven't left and they won't. This is a massive con put about by the government to scare us into accepting cuts on public services while corporations get away with it. Pretty much the same as telling us the bankers will flee to Hong Kong if we keep telling them off. Hong Kong won't have them - did you not notice that most of the Asian economy didn't get wrecked by the 'global' crisis? China is still rocking the free world, and will continue to do so.

Sorry, I get really cheesed off listening to people buying into tax propaganda from Call Me Dave (and Tony Bliar before him).