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[aeolium]

And yes, I'm talking penny pieces here, but the principles involved in clamping down on this kind of tax management would have to be applied universally and could not justly be applied only to large multinationals.

I agree that the fragmentary way corporation tax has developed over the last 100 years and especially the now outdated approach of territorially-based taxation for multinationals (with countries competing to provide the lowest tax charge) needs reform.

What do you think about this proposal which uses a different approach to consider the taxation and reapportionment of the global profits of companies?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/24/corporate-tax-avoidance-unitary-taxation-g8

[ahinton]

I agree that the fragmentary way corporation tax has developed over the last 100 years and especially the now outdated approach of territorially-based taxation for multinationals (with countries competing to provide the lowest tax charge) needs reform.

What do you think about this proposal which uses a different approach to consider the taxation and reapportionment of the global profits of companies?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...ry-taxation-g8

Not much, largely because obtaining international agreement on it - by which I mean by every nation in the world that has a tax system - will prove an impossibility, not least because there are too many vested interests in not having such agreement. A better solution would be the wholsale abolition of corporate taxes where all money so saved would have by law to be ringfenced for futher R&D and additional employment and could not find its way directly into shareholders' pockets; of course, this would also require international agreement but that would likely be far easier to obtain because, as soon as one country does it, it wrests massive competitive advantage over all those who have yet to do it and corporate taxation would then gradually collapse internationally like a pack of cards. More employment would mean more in taxes and social charges being paid by employers and employees, more products and services would attract more VAT and HMRC would save many millions in no longer having to operate a corporate taxation régime. Ideal? I doubt it, but better, I suspect, than either the status quo or the unitary taxation proposals outlined in this article.

[aeolium]

I don't agree with that, as it seems largely to rubberstamp the status quo. Corporation tax is pretty much an irrelevance for multinationals now anyway as it is so easy for them to avoid it so how would abolishing it help? We will be left with the same multinational-dominated world with huge inequality and governments scrabbling around for income from the same captive tax base at a time of austerity - as is most clearly seen in Greece where tax avoidance was for a long time the rule and tax collection the exception.

[ahinton]

I don't agree with that, as it seems largely to rubberstamp the status quo. Corporation tax is pretty much an irrelevance for multinationals now anyway as it is so easy for them to avoid it so how would abolishing it help? We will be left with the same multinational-dominated world with huge inequality and governments scrabbling around for income from the same captive tax base at a time of austerity - as is most clearly seen in Greece where tax avoidance was for a long time the rule and tax collection the exception.

Yes - corporation tax is now largely an irrelevance - so why not abolish something that's become so corrupted, despised, ignored and twisted? Yes, you ae rightg in saying that abolishing it will still leave a legacy situation in which counties will compete with one another over income and other taxes, so unless all taxes can be harmonised and agreed to be indentical between all taxing countries, any such meddling will not achieve what it sets out to achieve. When corporations and governments can buy and sell taxation systems, forget it!

[amateur51]

More strikes by workers at Amazon.de

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25397316

Background:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/25/german-amazon-employees-strike-pay

Let's see how this pans out and if the action spreads to other countries.

I'm now boycotting Amazon per se and doing my best to use only marketplace sellers even if it means greater expense (how noble!).

[Anna]

I'm now boycotting Amazon per se and doing my best to use only marketplace sellers even if it means greater expense (how noble!).

As I buy most books secondhand - what I do is check out Amazon, note prices and sellers and then check out AbeBooks. Very often the same sellers are on both but their prices on Amazon are higher (because that's where everyone looks first), so I buy from AbeBooks if possible or a marketplace seller if they are cheaper. Never had a problem with Abe, condition, delivery, packaging, has always been very good.

[amateur51]

As I buy most books secondhand - what I do is check out Amazon, note prices and sellers and then check out AbeBooks. Very often the same sellers are on both but their prices on Amazon are higher (because that's where everyone looks first), so I buy from AbeBooks if possible or a marketplace seller if they are cheaper. Never had a problem with Abe, condition, delivery, packaging, has always been very good.

Great advice Anna - many thanks.

[amateur51]

The FT digs further into the tax affairs of eight US tech groups ...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/af8fbee4-7144-11e3-8f92-00144feabdc0.html

[aeolium]

This article is an interesting comment on the power of the tech giants. The link to the Packer study of Amazon in the New Yorker is also worth reading:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/17/140217fa_fact_packer?currentPage=all

We may be paying more than we think for our love of a bargain.