Corporation Tax

.string.

I first became aware of, or rather interested in, who pays corporation tax at the time when there was that discussion about the tax affairs of Amazon, Google and Starbucks. It annoyed me that companies should avoid tax in that way by not registering in the UK and paying their way. My perception of their behaviour was that it was like that of free-loading parasites feeding on our economy.

As a result I'm left with a wish to favour companies which are properly registered in the UK. However I've found that it is not easy to discover where a particular company is registered (and pays tax) and therefore recommend a section in this site which would give links to the information and perhaps some guidance on interpreting what one finds.

Related to this, and with the possibility of Scotland separating from the rest of the UK, I am determined not to support Scotland, should it choose to be a foreign country, collecting corporation tax to the detriment of the UK and will change my Bank (Nat West which is part of RBS) because it is currently registered in Scotland. I've noticed already that there has been some talk of relocating Scottish-based Banks in England (for example) and ask that clarification on this be included in the new section that I have suggested.

torbrex

From what I can gather from your post you seem to be suggesting that MSE start a new section on the forum to list which companies are registered in England for tax purposes.

I don't realy think that this would be a good subject for a whole forum sub-listing but it might be something that could be covered in one of Martin's Blogs or as a 'news' item.

.string.

torbrex wrote: »

From what I can gather from your post you seem to be suggesting that MSE start a new section on the forum to list which companies are registered in England for tax purposes.

I don't realy think that this would be a good subject for a whole forum sub-listing but it might be something that could be covered in one of Martin's Blogs or as a 'news' item.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I agree - it's not really a discussion point, except maybe to talk around what details might be useful; as a discussion point in the wider sense it could quickly get political and inflammatory.

I did indeed mean it as a feature of the wider site, not in the forum, similar to that which covers the banking Guide on "Are your Savings Safe" (which I find useful by the way). Incidentally there is/will be a connection to the latter due to the lack of protection in a foreign bank.

But at this time the concerns I expressed are more about whether a business is registered and paying tax in the UK, not only in England but anywhere in the UK. But if such a Guide is to be set up then it is as well to plan its structure ahead should Scotland unfortunately depart, so that one is prepared come this September. The Guide would still remain for the residual UK, but not including Scotland.

Aquamania

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/info

I don't see any value in MSE attempting to duplicate this official website.

.string.

I know that site, and that might indeed be one to link to but it does not by itself suffice.

For example look up Amazon and try and find out if Amazon pay corporation tax in this country.

Aside from that the site is not comprehensible to those without the specialised knowledge to interpret it.

Aquamania

.string. wrote: »

I know that site, and that might indeed be one to link to but it does not by itself suffice.

For example look up Amazon and try and find out if Amazon pay corporation tax in this country.

Aside from that the site is not comprehensible to those without the specialised knowledge to interpret it.

From that link, there are a number of companies that start with the name amazon; I'm sure they all pay their share of corporation tax.

If you mean the well known, online retailer, that is Amazon EU SARL which is not on the companies house website as it is not registered in the UK; their own website declares they are registered in Luxembourg.

Amazon's UK subsidiary paid £2.4m in corporate taxes in 2012.
The tax bill was almost as much as the £2.5m in government grants Amazon received over the same period, according to a Companies House filing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22549434

.string.

I think your reply makes my point very well to anyone concerned about companies that do business in the UK not paying the taxes which other home-based companies pay.

It is always possible, of course, for anyone with the necessary background knowledge to ferret out the companies that they might want to support and those that they would rather not. But not everyone has that skill or the time.

So I think it would be a useful service for this site to give guidance in this matter.


So I think, apart from giving helpful links and guidance on their interpretation, some specific examples could be itemised;

1. (major) web-order companies registered and pay corporation taxes in the UK

2. Banks and building societies which are registered and pay corporation taxes in the UK

There are other groups of interest of course.

zenmaster

An extremely naive viewpoint.

What about UK companies who export. Should they pay tax in the UK or in the country they export to?

Besides, Amazon is a particularly poor example -
Amazon is Britain's most influential retailer - and it doesn't even make a profit

pogofish

Since when did we pay Corporation Tax to the MSE site....?

.string.

You're not being "especially nice" Zenmaster.

Anyway, there's a difference between a company exporting its manufactured products and a retailer artificially registering in another country in order to avoid tax.

Amazon not making a profit? Really?

Anyway this is about making an informed choice and mse helping in this respect.

antrobus

.string. wrote: »

....Anyway, there's a difference between a company exporting its manufactured products and a retailer artificially registering in another country in order to avoid tax....

There is nothing artificial about the Single European Market.

.string. wrote: »

....Amazon not making a profit? Really?

Really.

Same Old Amazon: All Sales, No Profit
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-24/same-old-amazon-all-sales-no-profit

.string. wrote: »

...Anyway this is about making an informed choice and mse helping in this respect.

Then get yourself informed.

God gave us Google for a reason.