Tax, it’s that dreaded sum taken out of each months wage
slip, but as individuals we accept that its part and parcel of earning a wage
and being part of society. From a company perspective however ‘tax avoidance’
can and is viewed as a strategic implement to minimize tax and increase
shareholder maximisation. However does this make it right? Do companies not
have a duty of corporate social responsibility? I think it is very much a
personal opinion and companies should consider the ethics of dodging the
taxman.
Some may argue that it’s a vicious circle, high corporate tax
within the UK forces multinational companies to look elsewhere to become more
‘tax efficient’. Whilst at the same time these taxes contribute towards
recourse benefiting society like the NHS, public transport etc. etc and
therefore lowering corporate tax will detrimentally affect theses public
services.
Many companies that operate within the UK rely on customer
expenditure to keep them strategically competitive and prospering within the
market. Therefore do they not have an obligation to give something back, by
contributing to their ‘fair share’ of tax responsibility?
Lets face it; companies like Tesco would not be as successful
as they are without customers spending ‘£1 in every seven’ (Guardian, 2012)
within their store. Yet The Times (2008)
reported that they transferred ownership of over 80 UK stores to joint ventures
in the Cayman Islands. Whilst totally legal the company managed to shirk responsibility
of £500m in tax and justified their decision by arguing they were trying to
become ‘tax efficient’.
Tax and taxation regimes can have major impacts on: long-term
strategic planning, long and short-term cashflow and investment/ project
portfolios. The above most probably contributes to the ultimate strategic
decision of creating and maintaining shareholder maximisation. Does this mean
that shareholder maximisation takes precedence over a fairer tax regime?
Within the FTSE 100, 98 companies base their operations in
territories where there is low or no tax (Sky News, 2012). Furthermore the four
biggest British banks have 1,649 ‘tax haven’ (e.g. Bahamas, Switzerland, Monaco) companies
between them (Sky News, 2012). Whilst
there is a lot of opposition from foreign governments towards these ‘tax
havens’, unless home governments reduce their tax rate this legal abuse is not
going to end.
The topic of tax is certainly controversial and ethically
disputed. However I believe that as long as tax avoidance is a legal strategy
nothing is going to persuade multinational companies otherwise. Unfortunately
this means that when multinationals avoid paying their fair share, it is the
ordinary people who are left to pick up the deficit.
Whilst I understand your point that Multinational Corporations get away with not paying tax, but do you not think that it is partially the fault of Governments like in the UK, that set high tax rates and possibly force companies to look elsewhere?
ReplyDeleteYes I do feel that much of the problem lies with Governments not getting a control of the issue, whether that be lowering tax rates or preventing this abuse of power. I think the best decision would be to lower tax rates, like in the UK, as this would encourage FDI as well as reduce the number of companies finding loopholes in the British tax system.
ReplyDeleteThe module focuses on on shareholder maximisation, however in this instance lower tax rates may well maximise stakeholder wealth too through the creation of jobs, higher disposable income etc. etc. This would encourage British companies to stay within the UK and utilise the resources here but at the moment with mangers trying their hardest to create wealth and value through cost saving strategies, being 'tax efficient' is just an easy way off saving costs.