Shouldn't this thread be titled 'Amazon staff, shareholders and customers to pay double taxation', given that Amazon can't pay taxes as it doesn't have its own money, it can only collect them as part of financial redistribution between customers, staff and shareholders.
Amazon to pay corporation tax on UK sales
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Caporegime
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My first order was the end of 1999, Matrix, Notting Hill and Blair Witch Project on DVD.
Got stung by import tax and "brokerage surcharge" by UPS. My first taste of importing goods above the £18 (now £15) threshold and on the receiving end of these fees. Back then, some still slips through, my Toy Story 1+2 boxset came unscathed, can't imagine it now, the Amazon label is like a big "tax me" logo to the customs officer.
You will benefit from this overall if you live in the UK. They were sending money out of the economy by declaring their taxes in another country.
Soldato
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Just dont say it three times looking in the mirror and we're good
That would be capitalism, we're going on other ideas nowadays. Amazon and similar doesnt pay tax on profits because they dont make profits mostly is what I thought. They do pay NI tax and various other things, its silly when people try to say no tax is being paid as thats pretty much impossible
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Is it the case that they actually make little profit, or that their business structures are established in such a way as to show little profit. They really aren't even close to being the same thing.
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I wonder if Apple will follow suit.
It's misleading as Amazon hasn't been trying to make profit it's not their business model they are rapidly expanding and have been from the start
They don't want short term gains they want to be a monster no one can challenge
I think Bezo actually hates corporations and has run Amazon as a kind of anti-corporation for the purpose of hurting traditional money grubbing ones. He's a San Francisco hippy like the Craigslist guy. He doesn't care if it makes a profit.
What are you talking about. Complete rubbish.
Are you proposing 0% corporation taxation?
As otherwise it is always the different agents in an economy paying. Having a corporation tax loophole is equivalent to a tax subsidy when the majority of companies are paying it.
These companies have always been stating what they are doing is currently allowed. Well it is allowed no longer and they are complying.
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They will have to. New laws are in force in the UK.
Amazon was separately reacting to the likelihood the tax arrangement in Luxembourg will be found to be illegal.
Amazon to be fair don't make any profit at the moment.
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Wow 1994.. you never hear of these things until they get big. I remember Yahoo was the only website I knew of back then
I started using them in 2006 and they were still quite good past then. Obviously branched out a lot since and the quality has diluted but still decent.
Remember it used to be mainly books? Remember a small number were just discovering the Internet in 98-00? That and so many weren't having it because it blocked their phone calls.
The 90s sound so cheesy thinking back to all this now. So many small companies not embracing the Internet world with the fear of viruses.
Heh, a whole new experience back then. Getting things before they were available in the high street and cheaper on release. As the high street stores were usually weeks late on getting the latest game and a higher cost as well as putting a deposit down.
Also remember when Royal Mail was fast? Posties complaining about the surge in parcels mid to late 00s. Every Christmas now, kablooey.
yay lets get rid of those 'orrible tax avoidance ISA's
Tax equality won't happen. The harder/More I work the more money I earn, The more money HMRC take. Then when I hit a certain number they take an even bigger percentage. Eventually for every extra hour I work HMRC want half of it.
Amazon will just reinvest in their own infrastructure and still wont pay any corp tax.
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yay lets get rid of those 'orrible tax avoidance ISA's
They are used as intended?
What unintended avoidance is going on?
As for a wider debate on ISAs, one could argue that the tax subsidy on ISAs is unfair.
Soldato
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That is the argument but no they just dont take a lot of profit on the balance sheet. It could be they are cooking the books fraudulently and extracting money without paying tax.
Its a company which grew very fast and expanded globally, they spent those profits and that is not taxable.
What people are really arguing for is import tariffs I think. Similar problems occurred when capital gains tax was changed, someone who spent their whole lives building a business was taxed in 1 year when it took 40 to earn it, I really think people misunderstand in the majority of cases and aggressive taxes are destructive
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And make Apple products more expensive than they currently are in the UK.
I don't know about Apple as a whole but app developers certainly pay VAT on a per country basis through Apple in Europe now.
yay lets get rid of those 'orrible tax avoidance ISA's
Amazon will just reinvest in their own infrastructure and still wont pay any corp tax.
can they do that even if it's not in the UK? or would they now have to pay tax if they tried to move the money to invest elsewhere
It would have to be within Amazon UK Ltd. I don't think anyone would have a problem with that.
You invest to make increased future profit. They will have to pay tax on it eventually.
Also I don't think all types of capital investment gets a tax rebate.
Not that I agree with the point myself but one could argue that any tax subsidy for services anyone receives which they don't pay for in full themselves is unfair.