I cannot comment on this really because I have read no figures for Costa Coffee.

But if it were Starbucks then according to the Guardian:

“Starbucks paid no corporation or income tax in the UK in the past three years, it emerged last month. The world’s biggest coffee chain paid £8.6m in total UK tax over 13 years during which it recorded sales of £3.1bn.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/12/amazon-google-starbucks-diverting-uk-profits

Presumably the local coffee shops in Bingham pay corporation tax at a higher rate than this?

😮 I’ve now decided my best new business opportunity is ‘flogging dead horses!’

:rolleyes: No answer from CD to how it would work in relation to #106 – so I’m out of this; so I can do some work and pay my sole trader dues to HMRC!

I was agreeing with the point that you made; that if companies avoid paying corporation tax (legally) then the government will have no option but to make-up that shortfall with more taxes (in some form) on the taxpayer.

Obviously I don’t think this is a good thing.

:confused:Sorry CD but I’m still not with you; but I’ll give you one last opportunity to try and convince me how your wonderful system will work – but please base your answer on a real case in this weblink http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-20219436

I know the person who is trying to stop ‘Costa’ opening a store in their local town. If the store is allowed to open it is supposed to be a local person who is operating the ‘Costa’ café as their own franchise business from Costa – how by taxing anything at the point of sale in this new theoretical business are you making Costa pay any more tax?

On Saturday I was in Birmingham and on principle I spent several minutes finding a coffee shop / eatery that wasn’t a multi-national! 🙂

:confused:Sorry, I’m not with you but hey … CD for Chancellor!! :confused:

From a philosophical perspective I see that specific point – but with Corporation Tax if they (companies) don’t pass it on (avoid paying) they get to keep it not the custome or HMRC!

With the end result that more taxes have to be levied on the customers!!

CH – I sensed you need assistance! 😉

Some more reading for you CD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_Tax

IIRC there’s no VAT on book sales here! 😀

I also must confess to being a ‘tax-minimiser’ 😮 – I was involved in NAM (a registered charity) securing EU cultural exemption form VAT on admission fees – they’re now also de-registered for VAT as well; but not the trading company, which covenants its profits back to the main museum charity!

The flip side to all of this is the museum has to absorb any VAT costs on capital projects – at the present time the funding graph is running well on the positive axis!

As a minor aside the rebate NAM secured on the Cultural Exemption provided a lot of the partnership funding to build Hangar 2, along with publicly donated funds and the HLF grant!! 🙂