If Apple paid their taxes...

Graham_Devon

How much better off would we be in this country? By we, I mean the treasury?

Apple have today announced record profits. Not for Apple, but for any public company in history.

They made a net profit of £11.8bn in it's first fiscal quarter.

Obviously that's not all from the UK, but they continue to avoid tax in the UK and continue to come under pressure around the world from their ethics of employing low paid, "dodgy" labour. Infact, some of the validated stories of how those who work on their products are treated are just appalling. What we would class as children in this country are dying on the assembly lines putting these devices together.

The US has calculated that Apple has avoided £29bn worth of Tax in four years (this was in 2013).

Apple now sit on so much cash, they could buy 400 of the 500 companies in the S&P index outright.

Is there something wrong here? Should they be made to do more? Or should we just accept this is the way it is and celebrate them?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31012410

antrobus

Graham_Devon wrote: »

How much better off would we be in this country? By we, I mean the treasury?....

I'd estimate the figure to be approximately £0.

Graham_Devon wrote: »

....The US has calculated that Apple has avoided £29bn worth of Tax in four years (this was in 2013). ...

It's a US company. So ultimately its profits fall to be taxed within that jurisdiction. Apple's tax 'avoidance' largely consists of the decision not to repatriate profits to the USA, where corporation tax is quite high.

prosaver

Technology giant Apple avoided paying corporation tax in the UK last year by handing out staff bonuses of more than £40million in shares, according to reports.

The company reported UK profits of £68million in the year to the end of September.

During that period it gave shares worth £43mllion to employees, which were booked as a taxable expense.

The move wiped out its corporation tax liability and enabled it to claim a tax credit of £3.8million to carry forward to future years. The company has declined to comment.
from the
daily mail.
Thats why i dont buy apple stuff.

Graham_Devon

antrobus wrote: »

I'd estimate the figure to be approximately £0.

How so? regardless of whether it's a US company, it still has dealings in the UK, and therefore falls under corporation tax here.

shortchanged_2

Goes to show really how fickle people have become in that a company that sells overpriced designer goods is now the worlds most profitable company.

I suppose you do have to congratulate apple to some extent that their marketing has been so clever that they have convinced so many people that their overpriced products are so worth it.

antrobus

prosaver wrote: »

Technology giant Apple avoided paying corporation tax in the UK last year by handing out staff bonuses of more than £40million in shares, according to reports. ....

I'm not that sure you can fault a company for distributing profit to its employees. After all, John Lewis similarly avoided paying corporation tax on £202.5m worth of staff bonuses last year, and no one has a bad word to say about them.

Graham_Devon wrote: »

How so? regardless of whether it's a US company, it still has dealings in the UK, and therefore falls under corporation tax here.

Of course it has "dealings in the UK". It has a UK subsidiary that "falls under corporation tax here".

michaels

I would find it hard to argue that Apple make much profit on their UK activities, most of the profit comes from their marketing (and technical innovation) which are I guess US functions.

prosaver

antrobus wrote: »

I'm not that sure you can fault a company for distributing profit to its employees. After all, John Lewis similarly avoided paying corporation tax on £202.5m worth of staff bonuses last year, and no one has a bad word to say about them.



Of course it has "dealings in the UK". It has a UK subsidiary that "falls under corporation tax here".

as my teacher would say when I asked to go to the toilet, "if everyone wants to go there be no one here.
so if everyone paid no tax......

Carl31

Theres nothing illegal about tax avoidance, i dont know why playing by the rules is now looked down upon. Who would want to pay tax when they dont have to?

If governments don't like their own rules, they can change them, of course that could mean certain companies up sticks from the UK

Graham_Devon

antrobus wrote: »

Of course it has "dealings in the UK". It has a UK subsidiary that "falls under corporation tax here".

So why do you suggest that if they paid their taxes (the same as many other companies do) we'd be better off by £0.?

Graham_Devon

Carl31 wrote: »

Theres nothing illegal about tax avoidance, i dont know why playing by the rules is now looked down upon. Who would want to pay tax when they dont have to?

If governments don't like their own rules, they can change them, of course that could mean certain companies up sticks from the UK

Indeed, the system is the problem.

I personally think something should be done about it.

There are so many large business in this country paying next to nothing in tax. Yet the little man has no where to go. If you are starbucks, yo ucan avoid it. If you are a little bistro with 3 stores, you have no choice but to suck it up and pay all the tax owed.

That's a wholly unfair system which gives huge advantages to the big boys and see's a lot of potential revenue in the UK lost.

Add on to the fact that many people working for thses places using tax avoidance schemes will also be on tax credits due to low wages and it becomes a bit of a farce. All IMHO.

I guess the argument comes down to Legal vs Moral.