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Two more tech giants have been caught shamelessly bodging their UK tax submissions, with Twitter accused of ignoring return filing dates and Microsoft said to be paying ZERO tax on a whopping great £1.7 billion of UK online income.
Microsoft is using the old Luxembourg/Ireland system favoured by other multinational tax avoiders to limit its UK tax bill, apparently channelling funds raised through online software sales through tax-friendly Luxembourg. According to the Sunday Times, Microsoft employs just a skeleton staff of six people out in Luxembourg, who do little more than sit there transferring online sales income to Ireland in order to escape higher taxes in other countries.
Twitter, meanwhile, has come in for criticism not for avoiding payment, but for not bothering to submit its accounts on time. The social site has incurred a fine of £375 for not sending in its tax return this year, with its financial numbers due to be filed with Companies House back in September. Perhaps they’re late thanks to coming via Luxembourg? [Telegraph and Sky News]
Image credit: Hiding money from Shutterstock
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Meanwhile George Osborne has said he’s going to waste billions of pounds hiring lots of staff and setting up a ‘Centre of Excellence’ to chase down this missing tax from these big companies… which will come to nothing, as while it is morally wrong, they are doing nothing legally wrong as these are all legal schemes, these companies are not obliged to pay tax the way they’ve set things up. If they really want to make a difference, they need to change the laws.
couldn’t agree more!
Can you really blame companies for doing it when loopholes and laws allow them to do it?
Getting a bit tired of reading about who’s doing it when I guess it could be sorted once and for all by changing the tax rules?
Good to see Goverment getting a grip on these tax dodging corporations!
could not agree more with @woody and @PickSuppy, its about the rules, the fault is not with the companies, we would all do it given the chance and even better as its not illegal. the fault is in the rules.. by all means Mr Osborn chase them for some tax and maybe they will cough some up out of public pressure but spend that money on changing the law and closing the loopholes
But… if Twitter is a tax avoider, by what medium can boycotters use to call for a boycott?!
Carrier Pigeon
Those pigeons don’t pay bloody taxes either
It is good to see our MPs, a fine body of ladies and gentlemen who are entirely blameless, who have never broken a promise, never mismanaged the economy, never failed to control the banking industry, who have never flipped a house, who have never put in unwarranted expenses have bought this to our attention.
Most of these companies are trading within rules, regulations, and legislation……. rules, regulations and legislation that is made in the House of Commons…….. by MPs……….