Imagine! After Reuters published an investigative report in October on how Starbucks paid no corporate tax in Britain, the company has been summoned to testify before the House of Commons public accounts committee!
Now, this may be partly because it's a U.S. company, so it's easy for Brits to pick on Starbucks. On the other hand, other big "American" MNCs such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook and Google pay little or no corporation tax despite large British operations. So probably Starbucks has been targeted because everybody can see how many Starbucks cafes there are and how much business they do, and it's absurd on its face to suppose that Starbucks is not a profitable operation in the UK. The issue is now political. As it should be.
If only the U.S. would follow suit, and at least shame such companies as G.E., Boeing, Verizon and Mattel that pay no corporate tax. If only.
And if only we had a group like "UK Uncut" that protested such tax avoiders as Starbucks, highlighting how many social services could be funded if only the company paid its fair share of tax.
And before you can say the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate is too high, let me remind you that, thanks to legal loopholes and overseas tax avoidance schemes, U.S. corporate tax receipts as a share of profits were "at their lowest level in at least 40 years" in fiscal year 2011, according to WSJ.
Cafe chain executive to face questions from MPs, while protesters plan to turn branches into creches and refuges.
By Simon Neville and Shiv Malik
November 12, 2012 | Guardian
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