Taxes - what taxes

[DodgyAgent]

Yeah, that's what they think right now.

This thinking should change to - "we'd be foolish to fook with HMRC and go to jail instead of just paying 20% tax on massive profits we make in UK".

why should they pay taxes on profits that they are not legally obliged to pay?

[DodgyAgent]

Yes, and hire IT contractors to build and test all that mathematical tulipe they run on superfast servers.

They hire a lot of highly skilled Java developers.

[Mich the Tester]

They hire a lot of highly skilled Java developers.

Yep.

And shouldn't the Tories be aiming to make the UK a low tax economy that attracts international trade instead of threatening businesses with all sorts of investigations? Look at the competition over here in Euroland; overtaxed, overregulated and generally falling asleep.

[Mich the Tester]

They hire a lot of highly skilled Java developers.

Done some testing for similar operations in NL and noticed the Astons and Jags parked outside; you could cancel all the corporation tax and by adding up the income tax paid by their people and the VAT their people pay when they buy stuff, you'll possibly bring in even more revenue.

[DimPrawn]

There's a difference.

I've nothing against the corp tax rate being ultra low in the UK and all companies benefit from it VS mega corps shifting costs and profits to tax havens whilst milking the UK and paying peanuts to the workers.

If it's okay for Starbucks to make a profit in the UK but call it a loss here and declare it overseas then it should be okay for all UK companies to do likewise, big or small.

And anyone who says Starbucks can't turn a profit charging £3 for a cup of coffee is a cretin.

[AtW]

why should they pay taxes on profits that they are not legally obliged to pay?

If they make profits in UK where they are based (tax resident) then they should expect to pay corp tax on them.

Artificial schemes that involve offshore locations with main or sole purpose to reduce tax should be deemed by courts as tax evasion.

The directors of companies should focus on increasing profits of their companies in any legal way other than cutting taxes due on those profits.

[Mich the Tester]

If it's okay for Starbucks to make a profit in the UK but call it a loss here and declare it overseas then it should be okay for all UK companies to do likewise, big or small.

Agreed. That's why I say the Tories should be aiming to make the UK a low(er) tax country. Would love to see the same thing happen in NL; the two working together, what with the many successful Anglo-Dutch businesses, could probably end up outdoing Germany for economic power.

[AtW]

There are probably many others who are based in the UK but whose customers are mostly elsewhere, especially trading companies in minerals, chemicals, raw materials, shipbrokers and so on.

Good question.

I say give 'em low corp tax rate of 10% on these profits to keep these companies in the UK - offset corp tax they pay in those overseas countries ( )

[DodgyAgent]

If they make profits in UK where they are based (tax resident) then they should expect to pay corp tax on them.

Artificial schemes that involve offshore locations with main or sole purpose to reduce tax should be deemed by courts as tax evasion.

The directors of companies should focus on increasing profits of their companies in any legal way other than cutting taxes due on those profits.

King Canute style you are trying to apply an old fashion solution to a modern problem. Instead of taking a simple binary argument and clumsily applying it to a problem why do you not use your not inconsiderable brain to coming up with a modern solution to a modern problem (globalisation) instead of simply "stopping something" that will have considerable unintended consequences (or have you not thought of those?

[DimPrawn]

King Canute style you are trying to apply an old fashion solution to a modern problem. Instead of taking a simple binary argument and clumsily applying it to a problem why do you not use your not inconsiderable brain to coming up with a modern solution to a modern problem (globalisation) instead of simply "stopping something" that will have considerable unintended consequences (or have you not thought of those?

IR35 style punitive tax.

Let HMR&C have a "deemed" UK profit (random large number) and send these companies a tax bill, retrospective, guilty until proved innocent. Let's see how they like it up 'em.