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Amazon + Marks and Spencer

2 companies in the news today, firstly, Amazon who only paid £220m tax in the UK on sales of £14.5bn but also Marks who have been relegated from the FTSE 100 for the first time, but they have to pay alot more tax pro rata especially on business rates which seem to be killing the high street

One would hope post Brexit and 'taking back control' would mean leveling this playing field, I suspect, however it will more than likely exacerbate it

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/03/amazon-accused-of-handing-over-diddly-squat-in-corporation-tax-despite-tripling-payment

Comments

  • Tax system definitely needs a huge revamp to stop companies like Amazon taking the absolute biscuit. 
  • Not just Amazon. Google and Facebook too. Had a thread running on this for a while...maybe worth re-visiting. Especially as it still doesn't feature strongly in the manifestos of any of the main political parties.
  • The demise of the high street goes on .. e.g. in Grimsby, the House of Fraser store which takes up a large chunk of the pedestrian precinct, pays over £1 Million a year in rent and rates. They must sell a lot of stuff to cover that and pay for utilities, stock and (of course) staff wages, pensions, and National Insurance. It's a vicious circle. HOF must charge around £45 for a polo shirt, while you can pop along the road to M&S, still a very wealthy company, to buy a better quality polo shirt for £25.  

    The much maligned M&S. Clothes for old people supposedly, not fashionable, too expensive. I have M&S shirts that are 20/30 years old, they defy fashion, a shirt is a shirt. I own M&S shoes that are 10 years old, still lots of sole left (Oh yeah), still shine up nicely and are still comfortable. You can get similar stuff for 1/2 the price in Primark or Tesco or any of Phil Green's emporia. You'll be lucky if they last more than a year.
    And thereby hangs the tale. Fashion. We've all been brainwashed to follow fashion.


    Amazon ? .. there is a huge (and I mean HUGE) Amazon warehouse complex off the M18 south of Doncaster. I wonder how much the company is charged for rent and rates on that site ?. On the positive front, it employs a lot of people (presumably on minimum wage) in an area short of decent jobs. And Amazon allows people to buy stuff at a reasonable price and have it delivered to their door. The old fashioned bricks and mortar retailers just cannot compete with this convenience.

    I agree that the tax structure allowing Amazon and its ilk to avoid tax needs reforming.
    What also needs reforming is the situation where 'the high street shops' are paying sky high and often unjustifiable rent and rates.   
    Doesnt help either the amount it costs to park within Town Centres to visit a lot of these shops now, even on a Sunday

    At the moment Strood where I live are doing loads of road works, trying to make it easier to get around the one way system (only made large parts worse) and making the pedestrian areas look nice and pretty - In effect they're trying to polish a turd... Not that Strood is as shit a hole as some parts of Medway but why go to all the effort when they charge stupid amounts for rent, firstly big companies arent going to be interested, secondly you can base your retail company down the road in the likes of Bluewater where its free to park and your almost guaranteed visitors

    Ironically Strood is even more quiet on a Sunday as most places are closed there and people flock to Bluewater regardless

    Until councils wake up, these high streets are going to turn into cheap Pound Shops / Takeaways etc. - And yup; just 10mins up the road is another Amazon warehouse, so people dont even have leave their homes to go to the big retail venues anymore, especially when Amazon now do same day delivery on a lot of items

  • Still surprising that Marks and Spencer has decided to merge with £Stretcher though.

    will call themselves Stretch Marks from now on.

    boom boom.
    or a merger with Blacks to form Black Marks
  • M&S Bluewater has been a shambles for clothes for so long. Never have the correct stock, so use their crappy online offering.

    Alan Partridge has been their fashion buyer for far too long.
  • edited September 2019
    At last a topic i can relate too.
    *struts off proudly in his beige chinos and suede slip on hush puppies*  😂

    edit: from the Sir David Attenborough range no less, none of your shite!
  • Mike Ashley came up with a sensible idea when he was called to a panel to advise on how to save the high street. Once they finished lynching him about gift vouchers anyway

    Any company who does more than 20% of their business online he proposed they pay higher taxes. Watch the online retailers open up high street shops then 

    Its worth watching the video or listening to the audio of it to get the full picture but it sounded sensible to me 
  • Bit like our own dear leader, a tiny bit of what he says, especially in the area he actually knows something about, makes sense...  
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  • edited September 2019
    I think Bernie Sanders said "The tax loopholes exist because they write the tax laws!" 
  • Bit like our own dear leader, a tiny bit of what he says, especially in the area he actually knows something about, makes sense...  
    Yeah maybe, I think they both share a total lack of getting how football clubs function and how they see fans and also both seriously wish they hadn't bought them in the first place 

    Mike Ashley obviously knows his stuff and whilst I personally think zero hour contracts are shady as shit in the same meeting he said they had surveyed all of their staff on them and over 2 thirds were happy on them as in they would rather be on 0 hour contracts than tied to x amount of hours. Take that as you will, I think you need to have a degree of certainty but that's maybe just me
  • edited September 2019
    Carter said:
    Mike Ashley came up with a sensible idea when he was called to a panel to advise on how to save the high street. Once they finished lynching him about gift vouchers anyway

    Any company who does more than 20% of their business online he proposed they pay higher taxes. Watch the online retailers open up high street shops then 

    Its worth watching the video or listening to the audio of it to get the full picture but it sounded sensible to me 
    In Amazons case extra tax on bugger all, is still just bugger all!

    How about a green tax on deliveries like £20 per delivery.
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