British public asks Starbucks not to pay any income tax in the UK

Starbucks of the United States, the world's largest coffee chain, has been operating in the UK for more than a decade, although its performance has been good, but it pays very little tax. The public has called on British government departments to review the current foreign-related tax system and question whether multinationals such as Starbucks can graciously pay no income tax in the UK.

Starbucks has a turnover of 3 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) in the UK in 14 years, according to a four-year survey conducted by Reuters and tax Research, an independent British research agency. however, the cumulative corporate income tax is only 8.6 million pounds ($13.76 million), which is less than 1% of the turnover. Last year, Starbucks posted a turnover of 398 million pounds ($637 million) in the UK, but announced a loss of 32.9 million pounds ($52.64 million) without paying any taxes.

According to the analysis of British tax experts, Starbucks adopted a series of complex methods to evade paying taxes, including collecting patents and copyright fees, providing high-interest loans to British branches and using the company's supply chain to transfer profits. as if by magic, he made the profits generated in the UK disappear without a trace, and cleverly avoided taxes.

Although Starbucks' move has caused public outrage, experts say these multinationals are taking advantage of loopholes in existing laws and regulations, and what they are doing is legal. Others defended multinationals, saying that although they did not pay much corporate income tax, they also contributed to UK tax revenue by paying various kinds of insurance, including health care and pension, for employees and collecting VAT from consumers.

Starbucks also denied that the company evaded taxes, saying that the UK was one of the company's most important markets, and reiterated that all taxes in the UK were legal. A spokesman for the company said: "We are well-behaved and good taxpayers. The accusation that we evade taxes is absolutely untrue. " The company also stressed that Starbucks has created 9000 jobs in the UK.

An official from the tax department of the British government also said there was nothing he could do. "We investigated the income accounts of all companies or individuals suspected of tax evasion and came to only one conclusion: tax avoidance," he said. "

One stone stirs up thousands of waves, the exposure of Starbucks tax problems makes multinational tax issues become the target of public criticism. British society began to pay attention to and question the British foreign-related corporate tax laws and regulations, and pointed the finger at other similar multinational enterprises. According to local media, McDonald's, Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple all have similar problems.

British tax authorities have been adding staff over the past two years to crack down on tax evasion, and hundreds of tax staff are now investigating such issues.

Analysts point out that this tax avoidance practice of multinationals is an unfair treatment to small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK. Some multinational companies, including Starbucks, make profits in business centers, but they do not have to pay or pay less taxes. it is obvious that there are serious loopholes in the tax system.

(responsible Editor: Leo)