Brandjack News

By Quentin Langley

Starbucks is being heavily criticised by campaigners and the media over its UK tax position. The background is anti-austerity campaigners, UK Uncut, criticising wealthy individuals and businesses for structuring their finances in such a way as to minimise tax liability. This is compounded in the case of businesses by sloppy and biased reporting in the broadcast media which compares corporation tax paid with the turnover of a business and not with the profits against which it is assessed. This is the intellectual and moral equivalent of comparing your income tax liability with the value of your house and not with, say, your income.

Starbucks actually paid no UK corporation tax last year. It continued to levy VAT for the government and to collect income tax and national insurance on money paid to its employees.

According to social media research agency Yomego, suggests that customer satisfaction ratings in social media have fallen dramatically in recent weeks, though they remain in positive territory. Some 95% of comments contain some reference to the tax issue.

h/t BrandRepublic