I've been trying to find time to write down my thoughts on some of the
recent news regarding tax avoidance and the bad publicity that
came out of the grilling the three finance heads of
Google, Amazon and Starbucks endured in front of the Public Accounts Committee
in Parliament a week or so ago.
And it was very bad publicity. Whether technically legal or not, it leaves
a bad taste in one's mouth when so much effort is put into avoiding paying your
fair share of tax. I like all three companies but it's a question of
basic fairness.
Luckily, I don't have to say much more because John Kay says it much better here :
Corporate tax should be fair and shared.
The analogy between the US and the EU is obvious. And while countries might
pursue apportionment unilaterally, a global agreement would be far preferable.
Not just to protect revenue. The repeated revelations that many major companies
pay little or no tax, even if they do so by legal means, fuels a public sense
that tax is mainly for little people. We need only look at Greece to see how
socially, politically and economically corrosive that perception can be.
Read it - it's short and to the point.
Life isn't fair on its own. We have to engineer fairness in.
Another person I should mention is Richard Murphy at
Tax Research UK. He's
been pushing for tax reforms along these lines for a while and very eloquently, Again, this is not about
hammering people or companies with more tax, or more the state being more profligate. It's about making sure the
burden is fair and shared by all who benefit. Including multi-national companies.
