I have a letter in the London Evening Standard this evening which is a slightly shorter version of this, which is what I submitted:
Mark Fox says Starbucks has made no profit. My challenge to him is prove it. When Starbucks publishes its accounts on a country-by-country basis showing just how much it trades with itself and where it makes its profits and pays any tax then we might have the data to decide if he's telling the truth. Until then we, including his investors,are in the dark and speculation is harming his business. Why won't he lay all his accounting face up on the table? The answer's in his hands.
Richard Murphy
Tax Research UK
Downham Market, Norfolk
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Please ask Mr fox:
1. When is Starbucks closing down
2 when is Mr Fox leaving Starbucks
3 Which bank/ s are funding Starbucks and why
Very simplistic but in my experience biusiness at the profit level is .
Presumably HMRC have reviewed this matter and are satisfied as to the position.
Having prooved the position to the lawfully appointed tax authority in the UK, why on earth should Starbucks have to proove anything to you?
Is that why the EU are investigating?
As I understand it the EU is investigating whether the agreements that large companies agreed with the tax authorities amounted to state aid. Their investigations have nothing to do with how much profit the companies did or didn’t make.
Er…yes it did
There was no state aid without profit shifting
The EU are looking at whether a deal done by the Dutch tax authorities amounts to state aid. That is irrelevant to the tax position of Starbucks in the UK.
‘Country by country’ reporting is achieved as far as tax authorities are concerned as it is only UK tax matters that are reported to the UK tax authority in a ULK Corporation Tax return. Those that need to know this information are given it. Starbucks has to proove to HMRC that it makes no profits and not to you.
You’re just trying to muddy the waters.
I am asking for them to prove that to us all
Why not?
That’s what accounts are for
Though to be fair they’re not investigating the UK specifically, they’re investigating whether the Dutch Tax Authority (DTA) has given preferential rulings which might constitute State Aid in Netherlands.
And it’s not clear to me that if they do find against the DTA it wil have any impact at all on HMRC’s acceptance or otherwise of Starbuck’s filing position in the UK.
“And it’s not clear to me that if they do find against the DTA it wil have any impact at all on HMRC’s acceptance or otherwise of Starbuck’s filing position in the UK.”
Precisely, it’s irrelevant – muddying the waters as Geoff says.
Wait and see what today’s announcements might bring…..
Before I recall the adverse publicity about Starbucks’ tax arrangements, my objection to them was their coffee was rotten and overpriced. Is till hold that view. For a business that is making no money, they seem to be expanding a lot, pushing up rents for retail premises and making it impossible for smaller businesses to compete. I profess no more than a rudimentary understanding of the dismal science of economics. I do understand that if a business is making no money, it will cease trading. That doesn’t look like happening to Starbucks any time soon.
Unless of course, Starbucks’ figures are as much a work of fiction as some economics commentaries I have read in the press. Like I say, I only have a rudimentary understanding of economics.