Starbucks - "Nobody Wants To Pay Taxes More Than Me"

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

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Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

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HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Starbucks Wars - Tax Is Voluntary

In an "interesting" move, designed to assuage its customers and mollify its critics, Starbucks has decreed that tax is in fact voluntary and has decided to pay some (£5M now and £5M later this year).

As per the BBC, a Starbucks spokesman said:

"We listened to our customers in December and so decided to forgo certain deductions which would make us liable to pay £10m in corporation tax this year and a further £10m in 2014."

Margaret Hodge has reportedly welcomed the initial payment.

Meanwhile, in other news, Starbucks will be closing unprofitable stores.

Presumably the increased tax revenue received by the Treasury from Starbucks will be used to pay for the job seekers' allowances of those made redundant by Starbucks?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

GAAR Blimey!

The incoming General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR), as per the 2013 Finance Bill, is not as clearly defined as some tax professionals would like; they are worried that it is likely to cause "considerable uncertainty".

In theory it will come in to effect in July. However, some are calling for it to be delayed until ambiguities within in it are addressed.

Jane Lee, partner at solicitors Pannone is quoted by Accountancy Age:

"There is scope within the GAAR legislation for it to be used far more widely than the original government report had previously suggested.

The drafting of the legislation and the fact that the guidance produced by HMRC is not legally binding means that there is scope for considerable uncertainty as to the type of arrangements which may be targeted by HMRC."

Additionally, it would seem that our political masters have allowed the opinion to form that GAAR will be the silver bullet that resolves the tax issues relating to avoidance wrt multinationals such as Starbucks.

This of course will not be the case.


Chair of the House of Lords committee on the Finance Bill Lord MacGregor said:

"There is a misconception that GAAR will mean the likes of Starbucks and Amazon will be slapped with massive tax bills.

This is wrong and the government needs to explain that to the public. GAAR is narrowly defined and will only impact on the most abusive of tax avoidance.

We accept the narrowly focused GAAR as a starting point. We recommend that the scope of the GAAR should be reviewed after five years as part of a wider post-implementation review, which would look, in particular, at how the double reasonableness test had been applied in practice and its deterrent effect."

As the saying goes, the issue around GAAR will "run and run".

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Starbucks Wars

I have to confess I am a tad "confused" over the bizarre announcement from Starbucks yesterday that they have decided to pay £10M per annum in Corporation Tax, irrespective of whether they are making profits.

1 On what basis have they derived this figure?

2 Either they owe corporation tax or they don't.

3 Since when was Corporation Tax (or for that matter any other tax) voluntary?

4 A cynic might suggest that this announcement suggests a certain fear within Starbucks about having their tax arrangements investigated. I trust and assume that this "voluntary" payment is not some form of cash appeasement designed to assuage HMRC/HMT?

5 Since when did HMRC accept "voluntary" donations?

6 How would HMRC account for this if they were (I don't think they will) to accept it?

HMRC is quite right when it said:

"Corporation tax is not a voluntary tax and Parliament sets out the rules and rates for businesses to follow. The public expects businesses to pay their fair share and HMRC will challenge, through the courts if necessary, any structures or tax payments that do not comply with the UK tax law."

I have no qualms about companies or individuals seeking to reduce their tax liabilities (legally). However, wrt Starbucks and its bizarre announcement I would suggest that HMRC tells them to stuff it and to go in and conduct a root and branch audit of their tax affairs without delay (ie audit the hell out of them!).

I am aware that others are saying that Starbucks have somehow been "bullied" into this by the media/politicians. However, I don't buy that at all.

This stinks!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"