| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Facebook Pays Less Tax Than You Do | |
| Posted by: | Cllr Sam Hearn | |
| Date/Time: | 12/10/15 17:33:00 |
| Where is your evidence that Facebook uses transfer pricing to reduce its corporation tax bills? Much easier to make the accusation than to provide the evidence. The BBC News website quotes John O'Connell, director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, as saying : "Taxpayers will be justifiably confused and angry about this tax bill. But Facebook is right to say that it is complying with UK law, which shows that the problem lies with our complex tax code, and that is what politicians should address as a matter of urgency." Unfortunately I think that he is "crying for the moon". The tax authorities do not make tax codes complex just for the hell of it (though it can sometimes seem like it). Tax codes are complex on order to provide certainty in calculation, to remove potential and actual loopholes and to make sure they will stand up to scrutiny in a court of law if challenged. A simple tax is likely to be an unfair tax and one that a clever accountant can easily avoid or evade. Complexity is in the beating heart (and soul) of every tax code. Taxing Facebook's "hidden profits" will. I predict, only be achieved by making our tax code much more complex and not simpler. The problems of taxing e-commerce transactions have long been recognised but progress has been slow and the social media business-beast continues to evolve chimera-like. |