https://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/04/tax-avoidance-is-beginning-to-hit-multinationals-bottom-lines/ Left-wing news, opinion and activism Wed, 02 Dec 2015 19:06:04 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.12
By: Charlieman
https://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/04/tax-avoidance-is-beginning-to-hit-multinationals-bottom-lines/#comment-438564
Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:04:10 +0000 https://liberalconspiracy.org/?p=36327#comment-438564
@4. Churm Rincewind: “Starbucks did indeed embark on some “wild and inefficient spending” as you put it, by taking on a large number of hugely expensive high street leases at the height of the commercial property market.”
Almost all of the businesses are Starbucks owned — the first franchises were launched this year. Consequently all of Starbucks UK (profit and loss) appears on the same balance sheets.
There is little doubt that Starbucks have shifted UK profits abroad to pay for “brand value”. It could be argued that Starbucks have overcharged on that value.
Starbucks has almost zero penetration in towns and cities internationally where good coffee shops already exist. The recipe to beat Starbucks is known to thousands of cafe owners.
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By: Churm Rincewind
https://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/04/tax-avoidance-is-beginning-to-hit-multinationals-bottom-lines/#comment-438550
Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:32:27 +0000 https://liberalconspiracy.org/?p=36327#comment-438550
@2 – You put your finger on it. Starbucks did indeed embark on some “wild and inefficient spending” as you put it, by taking on a large number of hugely expensive high street leases at the height of the commercial property market. More fool them. But this is a fact, not “neo-liberal guff”. Check it out.
@3 – Yes, you’re right. The UK operation of Starbucks has been pretty much a disaster compared to all the other countries in which they operate. So I guess that at some poiont they faced a hard decision whether to withdraw from the UK or to tough it out. They chose the latter, and that’s why they’re still here in spite of the losses they’ve incurred so far. Long term they may be right or they may be wrong (not our problem), but there’s no point in pretending that their losses to date aren’t real ones.
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By: Salman Shaheen
https://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/04/tax-avoidance-is-beginning-to-hit-multinationals-bottom-lines/#comment-438498
Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:59:33 +0000 https://liberalconspiracy.org/?p=36327#comment-438498
It’s common for start-up businesses to make a loss initially. But for 15 years? What are they still doing in Britain? Why are they expanding?
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By: BenM
https://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/04/tax-avoidance-is-beginning-to-hit-multinationals-bottom-lines/#comment-438495
Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:45:55 +0000 https://liberalconspiracy.org/?p=36327#comment-438495
You’ll have people coming on here defending Starbucks by trying to claim they did actually make a loss on operations blah, blah, blah.
Always treat that kind of self-serving neo-liberal guff with the derision and scorn it deserves.
If Costa Coffee etc weren’t posting losses, nor – in the absence of some wild and ineffcient spending – would Starbucks be doing so.
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By: davidh
https://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/04/tax-avoidance-is-beginning-to-hit-multinationals-bottom-lines/#comment-438489
Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:10:18 +0000 https://liberalconspiracy.org/?p=36327#comment-438489
In starbucks’ case their bottom line was redrawn in order to maximise (or they would say “optimise”) tax avoidance. But it is very good to hear that income drops of 24% are in line for those who feel they do not need to contribute to common goods and services, and that a third of the public are active in this area.
I make a connection here with Experian’s claim today that many “Zombie Businesses” exist, only kept alive by very low interest rates, draining more viable businesses of access to bank funds. Those firms pushing tax avoidance to the max are also Zombie Businesses – they survive by pretending they make no profit, and increase the burden to other firms and people to pay for the common goods and services we all need, making life austere for the rest of us.