Turner Little discusses a Welsh town’s decision to move itself ‘offshore’, so its businesses can avoid paying UK corporation tax.
Global brands
A number of global brands, including Google and Starbucks, have utilised offshore arrangements to avoid paying corporation tax. Last year Amazon only paid £11.9 million in tax on £5.3 billion worth of UK internet sales. Meanwhile Caffé Nero has paid zero corporation tax since 2008, even though they have racked up £1.2 billion in UK sales.
UK George Osborne has promised to introduce what he calls a ‘Google tax.’ This would target large technology businesses that divert their profits offshore. The government isn’t moving quickly enough for a number of family-owned business in the Welsh town of Crickhowell, who have decided to mount an effort to persuade the Treasury to take action.
Town that went offshore
Their efforts have been recorded in a new BBC 2 documentary – The Town That Went Offshore. It shows how businesses in the town, led by its salmon smokery, local coffee shop, book shop, optician and bakery, have created their own ‘tax avoidance’ plan.
With the advice of experts, the businesses emulated offshore arrangements employed by global brands, to submit their own DIY tax plan for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). According to Jo Carthew, who runs Crickhowell’s Black Mountain Smokery, they had a “very good meeting” with HMRC when they submitted their offshore tax plan for approval.
Heading offshore
Carthew also said: “Until now, these complicated offshore tricks have only been open to big companies who can afford the lawyers’ fees. But we’ve put our heads together, and worked out a way to mimic them.” She further commented, “it’s a threat to the Government because if they don’t act this could be rolled out to every town. Everything we have proposed is legal.”
This shows that you don’t have to be a big multinational brand to move your operations offshore. If you utilise offshore banking services, such as those provided by Turner Little, you can take advantage of offshore arrangements to streamline your firm’s outgoings.
Turner Little
Turner Little was founded in 1998 and it has since become a well-established UK based professional Company Registration Agents, Registered Bank Intermediaries and Business Consultants, as well as Trust providers.