News Apple to begin repaying Irish tax bill next year

Good - Governments (globally) need to spend less time hassling small businesses and individuals and more time getting the big payouts from the likes of Apple and Google.

 

I often wonder if the business taxation model is actually correct. In a global economy it is all too easy for a global company to exploit loopholes and make use of tax havens. Perhaps if we just received all business tax from VAT, which is pretty much unavoidable, and not actually worry about what the business itself is doing. No business taxes should mean more companies locate here and create more jobs. I haven't given this more than a minutes thought but it could work...

 

What's the bet the 3rd part escrow company was set up by Apple?

 

Some economists advise on setting corporation tax to zero and making up the difference with luxury taxes and increasing capital gains tax, to directly target those that profit from business rather than the entity itself. I think it has merit but I believe this would need to be a policy implemented pretty much everywhere, how would you otherwise stop assets from being moved out of the country?

 

I think if corporation taxes were abolished everywhere then we would lose a potential USP. Selling products at a different/lower price in other countries wouldn't necessarily be a problem as the key benefit to the UK would be job creation and support for native supplying businesses. More people with jobs = more people buying things

 

I'm always hearing about record levels of employment so if more people with jobs = more people buying things something must be wrong as i also keep hearing about how UK growth and stuff gets downgraded.

 

Having a job != having disposable income. You could have 100% of the potential workforce in work, but if they're all spending 100% of their income on 'the cost of living' [rent, food, utlities etc] then the economy will still tank as it relies on enough people having enough disposable income to buy random crap.

 

While it probably wouldn't help much with the apple thing, getting the EU to put a tax directly at the country of purchase of online advertising would be a start for the Googles and Facebooks of this world. So even if they sold ads in Ireland and the customer was in France, France would get the tax. A heavy EU wide tax.

You don't have to tell me twice.