Today I have to work on my taxes for my business from the months of Feb to Sept. To be honest, I’ve never really done it before, well not business tax, my mom usually did my personal. But since I am a budding entrepreneur, I can’t call on mamma, I have to bite the bullet and do it myself. I have a fear of anything to do with math. It’s not to do with worrying about how much money I owe, because I know I’m at a loss. All my spare money goes to supplies to keep funding the business, it will be some time before I can expect to see a profit. My fear stems from a brain problem that hinders me from practicality. My optic nerve is not connected to the left side of my brain. Only the right one is, and I have almost no sight in my right eye. What does that have to do with math you ask? Well the right side of your brain governs, creativity, expression, communication, I’ve got that nailed, I’m good in those areas. The left side, controls math, and — God knows what else, mine isnt hooked up right, how should I know?? Ha Ha! Seriously it’s true! I could never do math in school, and didn’t even take enough math to graduate, I was in Algebra for 3 years! Plus in 5th grade fractions class I had a major traumatic experience with a mean nun, and it scarred me for life, but I’m not going to go into it now…Luckily, my sweet local news agent is an accountant & is gonna go over and check that I did it right, so I’ll be ok.
But it really sickens me that my little business must pay tax and go through scrutiny of Customs and Revenue, and 98 of the top 100 grossing businesses in the UK DO NOT PAY ANY CORPORATE TAX!!!! That’s right, they skirt by that bothersome issue by renting a cheap office space in Jersey, and saying their business is based there!! It is absolutely disgusting what lengths businesses will go to to avoid paying their fair share. How on earth can any normal person expect to succeed in a business venture, when these big corporations can just suck as much money up as possible? And the slimy government just keeps licking their asses for the almighty pound/ dollar/ yen/ whatever! Banks don’t pay tax, they gamble billions away, we the tax payers bail them out, and on top of all of that, they reward themselves with massive bonus’s?? WTF?? We as a society have sunk to a new low. Tescos, Sainsburys, BP (Duh?), BT, Sky, ITV, Morrisons, HSBC, RBS, M & S,– the list goes on and on and on!! These companies do not pay corporate tax! The Govt triples UNI fees, closes hospitals, cuts funding to needy charities, and raises our taxes instead of taxing these multinational corporations????? CHANGE NOW! Click the pic to read the full list from the Guardian.
Occupy London!
oxo gd
ps – if you are clicking here from the right wing account’s site – I got my info from the Guardian article which you can read by clicking on the pic above, and this brilliant channel 4 expose –
http://www.channel4.com/news/should-the-government-target-tax-havens
Erm, you’re going to have to show your workings for your claim that “98 of the top 100 grossing businesses in the UK DO NOT PAY ANY CORPORATE TAX!!!!”
Erm, it was a story on Channel 4 news 2 weeks ago! 98 of the top 100 FTSE companies in the UK base themselves in Jersey where they dont have to pay Corp Tax….Erm if you click the pic it leads to an article in the Guardian listing the companies – Erm!
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Ha Ha! Thanx for the press and link! I didn’t coin the phrase – again I got the info from the guardian, like it says in my post, but since, you are too slow – here’s the link http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/11/ftse100-subsidiaries-tax-data?fb=native
It does not say anywhere in that Guardian piece that these companies pay no tax. It says that they have a presence in tax havens, some of which have 0% tax rates. That is not the same.
If you look at the accounts of any of those companies (and they will all publish them on their websites, look for ‘Investor Relations’) then you will see that they do pay tax. Lots and lots of tax.
Most of these companies do, indeed, use various fancy structures and wheezes to *reduce* their tax bill. That is not in dispute. Not all of the subsidiaries in tax havens are set up with that in mind (it’s hardly beyond belief to imagine that a huge UK company might want to have a genuine presence in Ireland) but many are. Great… let’s talk about whether these companies are pushing the law too far and decide what should be done about it.
However, let’s NOT say they pay no tax. It’s not true. It’s absolutely objectively and proveably nonsense. It is not supported by your sources, and even the most rudimentary fact-check would tell you that. You’re spreading complete misinformation.. how, precisely, do you think that helps further your objective?
I didn’t delete your comment, I actually have a life, and was out all day.. Believe it or not, I have more important things to do than nit pick back and forth with you about tax issues. I didn’t say they dont pay any tax, I said they don’t pay corporate tax… Multi national companies globally base themselves where ever they can get tax breaks, unlike the rest of the world. And politicians from the left and right do back flips to appease them, while lawyers sit on the sidelines making sure they get away with robbery, all the while awarding themselves with massive bonus’. While this govt and others cut vital social programs for the under classes. Everyone knows that! The fact that you honestly believe people are going to go to my site, a site of a psychedelic audio/ visual artist, to get their financial information is laughable. I suggest you and your calculator jockeys step away from the computer and get some air and color in your drab, pathetic lives, it would do you a world of good!
Sincere apologies for accusing you of deleting the comment. It seemed like it was there, and then it went and I jumped to a (evidently mistaken) conclusion. Fair play to ya!
You’re still wrong, though. They DO pay corporation tax. Seriously, they do. You’ve misinterpreted what you have seen/read. I’m not on a mission to stick up for The Man. I think he’s a twat. I don’t like a lot of the stuff that these companies do to reduce the amount that they contribute to the societies in which they trade. However, I think the debate works better if people understand the truth. And your post is not telling the truth.
I don’t care why people come to your site. And I’d thank you not to make assumptions about my life. I came here and read something which isn’t true and which, if others read it, would do nothing but spread ignorance. If you didn’t want people to react to it or have an opinion about it then you wouldn’t have written it.
It’s good that you feel strongly about this stuff. But if you genuinely think that the system should change, don’t you think you should start by understanding something of how it works?
I say again, for absolute clarity, your statement is wrong. These companies pay corporation tax. I can’t really be any clearer on that point.
Here is a link to the Vodafone accounts (http://www.vodafone.com/content/annualreport/annual_report11/financials.html), They paid £1.6bn of corporation tax last year. They probably should have paid more, but that’s not what’s at issue.
I’m not sticking up for corporates or for bankers. I’m sticking up for the facts. Arm yourself with them. They are your friend.
I see you have deleted my comment. It’s helpful to know that you’re deliberately misleading people and have no interest in actual facts – rather than that you just got the wrong end of the stick when reading about a topic you (and I mean no offence here) are not any kind of expert in.
It’s a shame you don’t think that the truth is on your side.
BTW! Thanx for the press! You and your flying monkeys have really gotten a bee in your bonnet about my lil ol post which has gotten me alot of traffic!! Awesome!
Is someone pitiful to bother trying to stick up for bankers. On the general scale of things you are so wrong. If I was told that bankers ate babies I could believe it – since they are ethically wrong in so many other ways. For someone to take their side raises some issues with that person.
Word.. probably work for Osbourne…
Found your claim shocking. Couldn’t believe it was true.
Went to Sainsbury’s web site
Profit before tax 827 million
Profit after tax 640 million
My old calculator says 187 million in Corporate Income Tax
Do I really have to check 97 more companies?
Help your cause, check the information, tell the truth and learn to admit when you are wrong.
Traffic is so important to you that you don’t care if the information is just plain wrong?
Yes actually you do have to check all 97 companies! Than afterwards you should get a life…
Thanks for the advice.
3 minutes to check the info. 2 to upload. 6 in total plus 1 minute now.
Not that much out of my life to upset a liar or cheat or plain ignoramus.
>But it really sickens me that my little business must pay tax and go through scrutiny of Customs and Revenue, and 98 of the top 100 grossing businesses in the UK DO NOT PAY ANY CORPORATE TAX!!!!
Awesome.
All those people letting you know what the facts are and you’re *still* willing to leave the above patently untrue statement in your article?
Do you care nothing for your own reputation?
And have you ever wondered why Occupy have got precisely nowhere beyond the End of the Pier show?
No not really. Cos the only losers still reading this old blog post are socially inept calculator jockeys like yourself, who clicked to my old blog post, from another loser calculator jockey’s site. I know this because of google analytics, and I really do not feel the need to set my record straight to your lot. I could say – “98 of the top 100 grossing businesses in the UK DO NOT PAY THEIR FULL CORPORATE TAX!!!!” Because they don’t and everyone knows that. But this isn’t The Financial Times, this is a site about the musings of an artist and I have left all your comments berating me below, so the other losers that click from the fca blog can all sit smugly in unison knowing you are right. Or at least you all can think that, because you are the only ones still reading this…