The NHS

[Fido]

Another option is to have a rate of Corporation Tax which is broadly in line with comparable G7/EU economies and - here's the rally innovative bit - actually collect the tax. No blind eyes, no so-called 'sweetheart deals', just cough up an amount commensurate with the profits being generated.

Set it a couple of percentage points lower than Germany and France, if that's what it takes to placate the so-called free marketeers (where the accent seems to be on the 'free') and then set about collecting it. I'm not buying this argument that it's an ever-decreasing tax rate that attracts business; more likely to be the slipshod, look the other way, collection régime. If you're not being required to pay, the rate is pretty academic.

If tax and NI are inescapable facts of life for Amazon's minimum wage employees, the same should apply to the business; particularly considering the wear and tear its ever-growing deliveries inflict on our crumbling infrastructure.

So long as transfer pricing exists, that is totally unworkable. The Laffer Curve is, unfortunately, an inescapable fact.

Which a good point. The EU seem to have been completely toothless in trying stop companies from entering into these agreements. Yes, it's may be more prevalent in Switzerland but Amazon is an example of a company and a small country (Luxembourg) of already high living standards taking the piss by channelling revenue through a low-tax system.

[Ossian]

Another option is to have a rate of Corporation Tax which is broadly in line with comparable G7/EU economies and - here's the rally innovative bit - actually collect the tax. No blind eyes, no so-called 'sweetheart deals', just cough up an amount commensurate with the profits being generated.

Set it a couple of percentage points lower than Germany and France, if that's what it takes to placate the so-called free marketeers (where the accent seems to be on the 'free') and then set about collecting it. I'm not buying this argument that it's an ever-decreasing tax rate that attracts business; more likely to be the slipshod, look the other way, collection régime. If you're not being required to pay, the rate is pretty academic.

If tax and NI are inescapable facts of life for Amazon's minimum wage employees, the same should apply to the business; particularly considering the wear and tear its ever-growing deliveries inflict on our crumbling infrastructure.

So long as transfer pricing exists, that is totally unworkable. The Laffer Curve is, unfortunately, an inescapable fact.

Which a good point. The EU seem to have been completely toothless in trying stop companies from entering into these agreements. Yes, it's may be more prevalent in Switzerland but Amazon is an example of a company and a small country (Luxembourg) of already high living standards taking the piss by channelling revenue through a low-tax system.

Collecting taxes is the responsibility of the individual member state, not the EU. If a multinational oversteps the mark in some countries, they'll get called on it; in others they won't. It's a question of whether there's a will...

Some years ago I worked for a multinational who were trying it on - taking the piss would be more accurate - and were warned by the Belgian tax authorities and also by the regional ministry of economic affairs (it was in Flanders). Eventually it escalated from warnings to something a bit more emphatic, including the business being in no doubt that tax and penalties would be levied and payable up front and that any appeal - should we choose to go down that route - would proceed very slowly. They would also recommend to their colleagues in the UK revenue that, notwithstanding the transfers being disallowed for tax purposes in Belgium, they should still be taxed as income in the UK. 

Things were resolved fairly quickly: we paid more tax in Belgium.

[bradesbaggie]

Trump said: “Look, I think everything with a trade deal is on the table. When you’re dealing with trade, everything is on the table.

“So NHS or anything else. There are a lot more than that. So everything will be on the table. Absolutely.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/e...n-16253884

[fuzzbox]

I remember Al Fayed (owner of Harrods and various property companies) coming up with a deal with the Inland Revenue, that they 'negotiated' the amount of tax he would be liable for, without being given access to his accounts!

I can't remember which government was in power, so I'm not blaming any particular party. I just remember it because I was just starting a business and I could well have done with such 'understanding' treatment by the authorities. I was also very sure being the small-time nobody I was (and am) I wouldn't get it. In fact, at the very same time, the inland revenue were so understanding to the peons, they were telling small businesses to max out your credit cards if you couldn't afford to pay!