Archive for the ‘tax’ Category

Not a penny to greedy grasping tax-dodging conman Richard Branson

April 14, 2020

It beggars belief greedy grasping tax-dodging billionaire conman Richard Branson has his hand out for £500 million bailout of his ailing Virgin airline.

Taxpayers should not give him a penny.

£500 million is only from British taxpayer, Branson is also seeking £700 million from the Australian government to bailout Virgin Australia.

Recently he shifted a billion dollars from American Virgin Islands to British Virgin Islands.

A couple of years ago Branson sued NHS for millions. How many lives has that cost, how many ventilators for patients, protective equipment for front-line staff?

His running of the East Coast Mainline was a disaster. The rail franchise has now reverted back to public ownership, much to the relief of train crew and passengers.

In his call for a bailout Branson is backed by Airbus, which makes the planes, and Rolls-Royce, which makes the jet engines for the planes. He is also backed by Manchester Airport and Heathow Airport which wish to see a return to businesses as usual.

No bailout for airlines, no return to businesses as usual. We should not bailout out industries which are trashing the planet, which delivered covid-19 around the world.

Bailout people not airlines, bailout local indie businesses not global corporations, then fund a Green New Deal.  Any bailout should be of strategic sectors by acquiring a controlling stake.

The rottenness is at two levels, rottenness of billionaires who think the role of the taxpayer to bail them out, whilst calling for the strivers to return to work and make them more money, and the rottenness of the travel industry who think they can return to businesses as usual trashing the planet with the the help of the taxpayer.

Rich football clubs owned by billionaires, have laid off their workers, expected the taxpayer to pay 80% of salaries of the lowest paid, whilst overpaid footballers remain on full salary sitting on their arse doing nothing.

Philip Greed expects the taxpayer to bail out his ailing Arcadia group.

Mike Ashley tried to open Sports Direct during lockdown claiming it was an essential business.

Tim Martin forced sick workers into work at J D Wetherspoon by refusing to pay sick pay, encouraged drunks to go drinking at pubs, then when pubs forced to close, told his workers to go find another job and refused to pay suppliers (many of whom are small craft breweries).

Vulture capitalist owners of Waterstone’s forced their workers into work, refused to implement social distancing, refused to allow workers to wear face masks or gloves.

We face two global crisis, global pandemics spread by airlines and cruise ships and climate emergency.

We were told could not reach zero carbon by 2035, impossible, unrealistic within the time scale. We have shut down polluting industries overnight, we have seen what is possible, we hear bird song not traffic noise, our skies are free of aircraft, our streets traffic free, our cities pollution free. We cannot return to businesses as usual.

Covid-19 has jolted us into another now, a different trajectory. We have a glimpse of what is possible, what could be. We must now create and maintain another now, our future and that of the planet depends upon it.

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Cappuccino at tax-dodging Starbucks

November 15, 2018

What was I doing in Starbucks, a place I would not normally wish to be seen dead in?

Curiosity, just how bad is coffee in Starbucks? Maybe I would be pleasantly surprised? Though I doubted.

I ordered a cappuccino.

I was offered a choice of three different sizes, normal, large and extra large, what Starbucks calls grande.

No, a cappuccino is not made this large.

I was told to go to the end of the counter to wait for my coffee.

I watched as my cappuccino was made. The girl was completely clueless on how to make a cappuccino.

It was made in a glass. The contents of the glass dumped in a large cup, more like a mug. Spilt on the side, no attempt to clean the cup, or better still, start again,

The coffee was not brewed direct into the cup, nor swilled around the cup in a circular motion to coat the sides.

The steamed milk was dumped out of the side of the jug into my cup. No attempt made to pour into the cup.

Watching my coffee prepared the attitude was one of, don’t care, don’t give a shit.

The coffee looked disgusting, tasted disgusting, brewed too hot.

The only positive I could say, no chocolate dumped on top.

It was then find somewhere to sit in amongst the rubbish, tables not cleared, dirty coffee cups, half empty cans.

Several minutes later, the girl who took my order cleared the tables.

She brought me iced water when asked. Brought in a plastic cup.

I noticed around half the customers were drinking out of plastic-lined paper takeaway cups or plastic cups.

So much for the bullshit from Starbucks caring about the environment.

The coffee was not as bad as I expected, it was far, far worse. But then what to expect from over-roasted burnt commodity coffee?

How do people drink this rubbish?

The simple answer is they don’t. What they do is add sugar add syrups in an attempt to make the coffee palatable. Hence the row of syrups prominently displayed.

The reason I asked for water was to take away the unpleasant taste of the coffee. I had to ask as no water available or brought to the table.

Beneath my table, 13-amp sockets to act as footrests.

The ambience of the coffee shop that of a station waiting room. Awful music playing in the background.

When this coffee shop opened, the then imbecile leader of the local council bragged Starbucks had made Farnborough its home. No, a tax-dodging corporate chain had opened a coffee shop to drain money out of the local economy. Home, if by home imply a company head office, is for Starbucks in Netherlands to avoid UK tax.

Outside three shed selling tat and a third shed selling disgusting German sausages. This is what in Farnborough constitutes a Christmas market.

Farnborough a run down dying town centre destroyed by decades of poor town centre planning, a council in bed with greedy developers. A council with no idea what constitutes good town centre planning or how local economies function.

Those who have the means or the time go elsewhere. And most certainly go elsewhere if they wish for a decent cup of coffee or somewhere decent to eat.

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Caffé Nero dodge tax

March 28, 2018

Caffé Nero and Starbucks are two large tax-dodging coffee chains serving undrinkable coffee.

Caffè Nero dodge tax as does Starbucks.

Caffè Nero dodge tax through a complex network of companies, ultimately owned by a Vulture Capitalist holding company based in Luxembourg.

Debt was used to acquire the company, which is then loaded onto the company, unable to  service the debt let alone pay it off, Caffè Nero is a zombie company.

Were Caffè Nero to file for bankrutcy, it would be another BHS.

This tax-dodging we all pay for with fewer police on our streets, the terrible scenes we have seen over the winter in our A&E departments in hospitals, cuts to social services, mass library closures, cuts to social benefits.

For the independent coffee shop, it is unfair competition, as they pay their taxes.

Big corporations dominate too many areas of our lives. They destroy the character of our town centres losing our sense of place. When they go under, we are left with devastated town centres which never recover.

They drain money out of our local economies. Spend a tenner in a corporate chain and that is a tenner drained straight out of the local economy, less a tiny trickle down to low paid temporary zero hours staff.

Spend a tenner in a local indie business and that tenner is retained and recycled within the local economy. There is also a local multiplier. For every pound you spend it is as though more than a pound has been spent, as the local business will spend it in the local economy. The coffee shop will be ordering cakes from a local bakery.

And the clincher, the local indie coffee shop serves better coffee.

Acquisition of Harris + Hoole by Caffè Nero has resulted in low staffing levels, leading to poor service, many good staff have left, the coffee once sourced from Union Hand-Roasted is now roasted by Caffè Nero, death by a thousand cuts.

One reason for the acquisition of this loss making chain may have been to offset tax.

I suggest for next issue of Caffeine that UK Uncut are invited to contribute a feature on tax dodging by Starbucks and Caffè Nero.

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Caffè Nero demonstrates why we need a latte levy

January 11, 2018

2.5 billion disposable coffee cups are thrown away every year in the UK.

What appear to be paper cups are not. They are lined-with plastic, and therein lies the problem, these plastic-lined paper cups cannot be recycled, if tossed in with paper, contaminates the paper with plastic.

Plastic pollution is killing the planet.

8 million tonnes of plastic are discarded into the oceans every year. The plastic accumulates. By 2050 the amount of plastic in the oceans will outweigh the fish. It is hazardous to sea life.

It is thanks to chains like Caffè Nero why we have a problem, they encourage a grab it and go, throw away consumerist culture.

Why are these cups sitting on a table, why was the coffee not served in a ceramic cup?

It demonstrates why we need a 25p latte levy, to be introduced at the next budget, why we must make it socially unacceptable the grab it and go coffee culture.

Please sign the petition calling on Michael Gove to introduce the 25p latte levy. And boycott chains which are lobbying hard to stop introduction of the latte levy.

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Latte Levy

January 5, 2018

The UK has woken up and smelled the coffee cup nightmare – and now there’s no way this horrendous and avoidable problem can be put back to sleep. — chef and environmental campaigner Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall

2.5 billion throwaway takeaway disposable coffee cups are thrown away every year in the UK.

Prior to the Autumn Budget environmentalists proposed a 5p levy on takeaway coffee cups. It would not have made a jot of difference and was wisely rejected.

House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has proposed what has already been misleadingly dubbed a latte levy, misleading as not a tax on lattes, it is a tax on disposable coffee cups, a levy of 25p on plastic-lined disposable coffee cups.

These cups are not as first appears paper, they are paper with a plastic liner, which means they cannot be recycled, go to landfill or incineration, or are dumped in the street as litter.

Note: The pedantic may point out there are three plants in the UK that can recycle these plastic-lined cup. They would be correct, but who is going to separate out these cups and send to the the plants? Thus to all practical purposes, they are not recycled.

The Select Committee took evidence. Three chains refused to cooperate, the usual suspects, Pret a Manger, McDonald’s, and tax-dodging Caffe Nero.

Earlier in the week, Pret a Manger launched filter coffee at 49p a cup, a 50p discount if brought own cup. In the absence of in-store information and sale of reusable cups in Pret a Manger, has been dismissed as  a PR stunt.

There are available compostable paper cups. But, in the absence of a scheme to compost or a compost heap to drop the cup on, will join the waste stream.

Reusable cups are of limited value. Expensive to buy, often made of plastic, have to be carried around. They only come into their own if used when popping out of the office for a coffee to bring back to the office, and only then if a substantial discount is given for their use.

The chains are already lobbying hard to stop the latte levy, their business model is built on encouraging the grab it and go, takeaway, consumerist culture, which may be why Pret a Manger  launched a preemptive strike earlier in the week.

Please sign the petition calling on Michael Gove to introduce the 25p levy.

As always, it is the indie coffee shops who are leading the way.

What we have to do is discourage the take away culture. Compostable paper cups, reusable cups, is merely tackling the symptoms.

We have to encourage relaxing with a  cup of coffee at a coffee shop in ceramic or glass. There is then no requirement for a  takeaway cup.

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How the tax man treats small businesses

April 13, 2016

There warts and all: the warts being my handwriting; all – being my generous donation to HMRC. I actually paid more tax than some companies owned by people that he might know quite well. — Jeremy Corbyn

Today we had infantile comments from Dodgy Dave Cameron relating to Jeremy Corbyn being fined £100 for late tax returns.

Easily done, many do.

Were Google fined for being six years late in paying their tax?

Cameron is totally out of touch with reality. He fails to comprehend  the anger of ordinary people and small businesses, who work hard and pay their taxes.

From The Independent

Following the Panama Papers scandal and Cameron’s subsequent bungled reaction, we saw hundreds protest outside Downing Street calling for the PM’s resignation. Meanwhile, the right-wing media attempted to bite back: the Metro ran a front-page headline on ‘Corbyn the tax dodger’ (referring to the fact that Corbyn paid a £100 fee for filing his tax return five days late, rather than avoiding any tax at all.) The Telegraph ran a story accusing Corbyn of receiving £3 million from the state, also known as his salary for his 33 years’ work as a Member of Parliament. The Sun even tried to suggest that the Labour leader had purposely failed to reveal earnings from a lecture he once delivered. The truth was a little different – as it turns out, Jeremy Corbyn actually paid more tax than he should have.

I mentioned this today to a restaurant owner.

He told me of how he was treated when he was late paying his tax. An oversight not an attempt not to pay.

A visit by an angry tax man, who wanted to strip the restaurant.

He wanted to take the paintings off the wall, which he assumed to be of value. They are, but do not belong to the restaurant, they are on loan.

Then he wanted to take the bottles of wine in a rack by the wall. Not wine, bottles of water. For show. No self-respecting restaurant would store wine where it was warm.

The tax man was asked, as there was a delay in paying the tax due to an oversight, why did he not send a reminder?

The response was he did not have to.

The tax man was told go and harass Starbucks.

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Google tax deal rapidly unravels

January 29, 2016

A tale of two taxes.

Top investor turns on Google over tax 'sham' - Times 28 January 2016

Top investor turns on Google over tax ‘sham’ – Times 28 January 2016

Google tax scam

Google tax scam

Google tax scam

Google tax scam

Last week we had the unpleasant spectacle of a smug George Osborne at Davos bragging of the amazing tax deal he had negotiated with Google.

Since Davos, a tax deal that has rapidly unravelled.

A tax deal so amazing, it was jaw dropping. Following a six year investigation of Google by the tax authority HMRC (cost of investigation, details of investigation, unknown), Google was to ‘voluntarily’ pay £130 million in tax, for a period covering ten years. This works out at a jaw dropping tax rate of somewhere around 2 to 3 percent.

A good deal for Google, a very poor deal for long suffering taxpayers, who would be only too happy to negotiate with HMRC a tax rate of 2.5%.

The current rate of corporation tax is 20%. Osborne wishes to lower to 18%.

The lax tax regime means corporations have amassed a massive £750 billion cash pile, dividends are at a record high. There is very little investment, as the corporations are risk averse, and see no future prospects.

Earlier in the week, Osborne was called by John McDonnell to appear before the House of Commons to explain himself.  He lacked the courtesy to turn up, instead sending a clueless junior minster.

On Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn wiped the floor with David Cameron, who unable to explain the tax deal, shouted infantile insults. Of what relevance the tax under the last Labour government? We know Alistair Darling was as useless as George Osborne.

The list of those challenging this tax deal grows by the day.

Rupert Murdoch, himself a serial tax dodger, has attacked the deal.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has attacked the deal.

James Anderson,  major investor in Google, has attacked the deal.

A German Green MEP has attacked the deal.

The European Commission has said that if they receive a complaint they will launch an investigation.

In Italy, in France, Google pay a higher rate of tax.

On buying goods and service, people pay 17.5% VAT.

People pay higher personal income tax.

The HMRC investigation into Google should be published.

The tax returns of Google should be published, as should of any company with a turnover in excess of a million pounds.

The tax returns of Members of the House of Commons (and of the Lords) should be published.

In parallel with the Google tax scam unravelling, two people won their Appeal at the Court of Appeal against paying Bedroom Tax on Human Rights grounds. One a lady who has a secure room to which she can retreat if in danger of being attacked, the other a disabled man who looks after his severely disabled grandson. What can only be described as evil, the government is to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. What can only be described as bizarre, their statement that the Appeal Court contradicted the ruling of the High Court. Not true, as a superior court, the Appeal Court overruled the Supreme Court.

People, who could do without the stress, are to be put through more stress by the Evil Doers.

The number of people this ruling will effect, is small. It will probably cost more in legal fees.

The government points out the disabled man receives a discretionary payment, thus does not have to pay the Bedroom Tax. This entirely misses the point. He should not be forced to claim, and if discretionary, could be terminated at any time.

It was not ordinary people who caused the banking crash in 2008, that took down the economy. It was the criminal activity of bankers and lax banking regulation. And yet, not a single banker is in prison. The banks were bailed out, the bankers draw their obscene bonuses.

Austerity is a political choice, it is an excuse for Shock Doctrine, slash and burn of public services, cuts to libraries, benefits, an excuse to transfer wealth from the poor to the rich.

The Bedroom Tax is a tax on the poor.

If we need a Bedroom Tax, then levy on those with more than five bedrooms and a household income in excess of £100,000.

It is not the just the tax dodging and avoidance. We have, as Mariana Mazzucato   highlighted on Channel 4 News last night, companies like Google holding meetings with ministers to determine tax policy.

Senior Tories met Google chiefs twenty-five times in run-up to their  shameful tax deal.

Please sign the petition calling upon the European  Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to investigate the Google tax scam.

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Posted in economics, tax, UK Uncut | 6 Comments »

Google ‘voluntarily’ pay £130 million ‘tax’

January 24, 2016

For small businesses and ordinary people, tax is compulsory, for tax dodging corporations like Vodafone, Starbucks, Facebook and Google, it is voluntary.

Google tax dodging

Google tax dodging

It’s unbelievable that big companies like Google ‘negotiate’ the amount of tax they pay. They should be told how much to pay, and made to pay up. Like everyone else. — UK Uncut

A smug George Osborne at Davos said Goggle only paying £130 million tax showed the success of his tax policies.

If an individual or a small business fail to pay tax, they will be prosecuted, forced to pay the tax owed. A small businesses may be forced into bankruptcy by the tax authorises to recover unpaid tax, may face a prison sentence.

One rule for ordinary people, small businesses another rule for the wealthy and global corporations.

From the viewpoint of George Osborne, it is a major success of his tax policy, aiding and abetting the rich and greedy corporations to dodge tax.

HMRC staff who aided and abetted, should be prosecuted for misconduct in public office, a criminal offence that attracts a prison sentence.

A six year investigation into the tax affairs of Google. How much did it cost, has it been published?

And the result, Google ‘voluntarily’ pay £130 million ‘tax’ for ten years of tax dodging.

For small businesses and ordinary people, tax is compulsory, for tax dodging corporations like Vodafone, Starbucks, Facebook and Google, it is voluntary.

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Posted in tax, UK Uncut | 7 Comments »

Tax credits a bad policy

October 25, 2015

Tax credits do not subsidise workers they subsidise bad employers. If their business model relies on paying poverty wages then they should be driven out of business.

We eliminate tax credits, by paying higher wages, by creating high paid, skilled jobs.

We eliminate tax credits by, as outlined by former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, using a People’s Quantitative Easing to create the cool breeze of green technology, by financing apps that create a sharing, collaborative economy, not the failed Quantitative Easing of the Tories, a mechanism to transfer more wealth to the rich, and in doing so, create piles of dead money.

The policy of the corrupt elite is to drive down wages to that of China and India.

The Tories want to cut tax credits by £4.2 billion. That is £4.2 billion taken out of the pockets of the working poor.

It was not the poor who caused the financial crash of 2008, it was the greedy bankers, greedy bankers who finance the Tory Party, but it is the poor, who can least afford it, who are being forced to pay the price.

Liar David Cameron said before the last election, they would not cut tax credits.

Bully-boy David Cameron is intimidating the House of Lords not to vote against tax credits. Even threatening to swamp the Lords with yet more of his cronies.

Apart from waging Class Warfare, why are the Tories so eager to cut tax credits? Simple, more money available, £4.2 billion, to cut taxes for the rich and corporation tax.

It is nonsense to suggest a constitutional crisis is pending, for the simple reason we lack a constitution.

Equally to claim support of the House of Commons. It is not support when you have to force MPs to vote with you. Neither can it be claimed support in the country. Tories had minority electoral support, and with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Opposition Leader, what little support there is is draining away by the day.

If the only role of the Lords is to rubber-stamp what is sent from the Commons, then what role the Lords? This would be yet further grounds for abolition.

The House of Lords must listen to what the people are saying, look at the impact on the lives of the poorest, not jump to diktat from the Tory government.

When those demands land on the doorstep, remember who cut your tax credits.

Please sign the petition calling upon the House of Lords to veto cuts to tax credits.

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Posted in economics, social justice, tax, UK Uncut | 4 Comments »

Vodafone hashtags get hijacked yet again

March 28, 2015

Vodafone do not seem to learn.

Please hijack their hashtags

and tell them what you think of their tax dodging.

Of course they could pay the billions of pounds in tax they owe.

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