FTSE 100 have big questions to answer, says Action Aid

http://www.cfoworld.co.uk/news/financial-p...use-tax-havens/

 

All but two of the UK's top public companies use tax havens revealing for the first time just how embedded the use of tax avoidance is among the FTSE 100, as the Treasury considers plans to hand the companies £840 million tax break, a new study showed on Tuesday.

Of the 34,216 subsidiary companies, joint ventures and associates that FTSE 100 companies comprise, 8,492 are located in tax havens like Jersey, the Caymans and Luxembourg.

 

According to ActionAid, whose study 'Addicted to tax havens: The secret life of the FTSE100' revealed the explosive data, it is the banking sector - bailed out by the UK taxpayer – that makes heaviest use of tax havens with a total of 1,649 tax haven companies between the big four banks. Barclays alone has 174 companies in the Cayman islands.

 

But it is not just banks, oil and mining companies make up the other group of tax haven users. BP and Shell have almost 1,000 tax haven companies between them, the report said, while British American Tobacco has 200 companies in tax havens.

 

Advertising giant WPP, which relocated its tax base out of the UK to Ireland to reduce its tax bill in 2008 – was exposed as the biggest tax haven user overall, using 611 tax haven companies.

 

FTSE 100 companies make more use of tax havens than their US multinationals, according to the report by the international development charity.

 

In a report – The Missing Billions - by tax expert Richard Murphy he estimated that £25 billion is lost from annually tax avoidance; made up of £13 billion by individuals and £12 billion from the 700 largest corporations.

 

Fresnillo and Hargreaves Landsdown are the only two FTSE 100 companies that do not use tax havens.

ActionAid said "We believe that the FTSE 100 have big questions to answer about why they require such a massive number of companies registered in tax havens.

 

"With both developing and developed countries continuing to suffer the effects of the global financial crisis, decisive action to tackle tax havens from both the UK government and G20 leaders is well overdue."

 

FTSE 100's favourite tax havens - in order of most popular - include Delaware (US), Netherlands, Ireland, Jersey, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switerland and British Virgin Islands.

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I am absolutely SICK OF THIS crap.... And, it's not as if this is anything new.. Nu Lie-bore did absolutely feck all about this situation when they were in power either, and there's a lot of these tax avoidance issues that go back over 20 years or so... The final figure for all this TAX EVASION is probably somewhere in the region of HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF POUNDS in total... The fact is, if we actually got all this tax back from these Corporate scum-sucking arseholes, we likely wouldn't even HAVE a bloody debt problem or a structural deficit (well certainly not anything LIKE the deficit we currently have that's for sure).... It's simple economics folks, the less tax revenue the Govt gets coming in, the more they have to borrow in order to actually get the money to pay for the things that we all probably want - you know, things like the NHS, free primary and secondary education, a Welfare safety net, a Police force, an armed forces, local council services, etc, etc, etc.....

 

Danny "the Ginger rodent" Alexander said that he was going to address this issue of tax EVASION, but so far has done absolutely SOD ALL about it... No, instead, these tax-EVADING scum-bags are set to get another BILLION quid, give or take, from the tax-payer..... Brilliant.... And, hey, while we're at it, why not give all the looters and rioters free Nikers from fukkin' J D Sports as well..... You f/ucking scumbag MP arseholes..... :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

And to think, the Daily Heil gets its panties in a bunch over the £1 bn that benefit fraud is supposed to cost the country.... Yeah, right, whatever.. PRIORITIES anyone.....??? -_-

Remind me never to tell you what I do if I actually get this job with PwC :lol:

 

 

I would say something about how ridiculous it is if it wouldn't feel highly hypocritical given I've just done my own Tax Avoidance this week.

Remind me never to tell you what I do if I actually get this job with PwC :lol:

I would say something about how ridiculous it is if it wouldn't feel highly hypocritical given I've just done my own Tax Avoidance this week.

 

PWC..? Price-Waterhouse-Coopers....? Gaaaaah.... Scumbags..... :P

 

Dude, why on earth would you want to become one of Satan's little helpers....?

 

There's a big difference between tax avoidance (legal) and tax evasion (illegal) as you well know.

 

That doesn't mean I don't want the government to do anything about it. I want them to do a lot about it although they won't be able to claim back the tax that has been avoided over the last few decades.

 

What is particularly annoying is just how many of these tax havens are UK dependencies so UK governments have been in a better position than most to do something about it. When you see companies declaring massive profits in the Cayman Islands you know there is something wrong. After all, it is just not possible to make profits of tens of thousands of pounds per head of population in a country.

How simple would it be to outlaw certain tax avoidance practices so that they were legally tax evasion? Because let's face it, I wouldn't mind a bit of cunning law-changing to catch out the people taking advantage of the loopholes.

There's a big difference between tax avoidance (legal) and tax evasion (illegal) as you well know.

 

That doesn't mean I don't want the government to do anything about it. I want them to do a lot about it although they won't be able to claim back the tax that has been avoided over the last few decades.

 

What is particularly annoying is just how many of these tax havens are UK dependencies so UK governments have been in a better position than most to do something about it. When you see companies declaring massive profits in the Cayman Islands you know there is something wrong. After all, it is just not possible to make profits of tens of thousands of pounds per head of population in a country.

 

Well, I think it's high time to make Tax Avoidance an illegal practice in this country, I dont see any distinction in moral terms... I'm sick of "creative accountancy" BS being used as an excuse by rich people and big companies to worm out of paying their way..

 

First thing I would do would be to close the Caymans and Jersey down for business, and start taxing these territories...

Savings products like ISAs are a form of tax avoidance. Would you outlaw them as well?

Savings products like ISAs are a form of tax avoidance. Would you outlaw them as well?

 

Yeah, with a limit of £3000 the last time I checked. About the only way us "mere mortals" have to avoid paying any tax... -_- Besides, they're savings accounts, so I'd say they would be an exception...

 

You notice that Tax Avoidance for the ordinary joe public is seriously limited, dont you....? There are certainly no opportunities for any of us on PAYE to "off-shore".....

PWC..? Price-Waterhouse-Coopers....? Gaaaaah.... Scumbags..... :P

 

Dude, why on earth would you want to become one of Satan's little helpers....?

Because they'll put me through my CTA and the good guy's won't hire me.

Because they'll put me through my CTA and the good guy's won't hire me.

 

Weren't PWC involved in Enron...?

Weren't PWC involved in Enron...?

Wasn't that Arthur Anderson? I thought Enron was the reason that they went under and reduced us from a Big5 to a Big4 accounting firms.

 

 

PwC have this great route into their company for people like me who buggered up and don't get the qualifications for a graduate schemes. After 4 years with them I can get basically any job I want. It's what I need right now. Even if I get to be a complete hypocrite.

Wasn't that Arthur Anderson? I thought Enron was the reason that they went under and reduced us from a Big5 to a Big4 accounting firms.

PwC have this great route into their company for people like me who buggered up and don't get the qualifications for a graduate schemes. After 4 years with them I can get basically any job I want. It's what I need right now. Even if I get to be a complete hypocrite.

I think it was Arthur Andersen, yes. However, it reinforced the impression that auditors don't want to raise serious doubts about their big clients because they would risk not being reappointed.

 

Changing the subject slightly here, but here we have a beginner's guide to how the Wall St traders and banksters are ripping off your pension schemes.... The guy who blew the whistle on Bernie Madoff is featured here, and basically calls the banksters "Financial Terrorists".....