According to the latest Private Eye, Vodafone have been given five years to cough up £0.45billion of the £1.25 billion that good old HMRC decided to let them pay. They are sitting on £9 billion cash from the sale of shares in businesses in China and France

Some experts believe the deal meant that Vodafone saved up to £6bn in tax.

No they don’t. You’d have to be a moron to think that, not an expert.

Even at the most tendentious, the potential tax liability was estimated at £6bn (although no proper breakdown of this figure has been given) and settlement was agreed at £1.25bn. I’m assuming you can do the maths on that one.

“No they don’t. You’d have to be a moron to think that, not an expert.”

Or a writer for Private Eye. And it was £2.5 billion Vodafone were prepared to cough up before their early Christmas present. And thanks to Hartnett, Vodafone will enjoy this generous tax allowance on future profits. Why did Hartnett recommend Vodafone see one of Deloitte’s tax avoidance specialists?

Should the protests not be directed at HMRC?

Vodafone and Green are not going to have a change of heart.

Vodafone can pay for tuition fees then

So the source for all of these protests is some guy who wrote without any evidence in a Private Eye piece?

You’re kidding me right?

cjcjc – organise a protest against the HMRc and we’ll join you! Good man! thanks for volunteering

3 – read my comment, there’s a good boy. And then deduct 1.25 from 6.

I think HMRC itself should run public information advertisements on telly, sticking to the facts:

“[these companies] have quite legally rearranged their tax affairs to reduce their tax payments to the UK government by the following amounts ….” and with links to a website stating exactly what each company has done and why it is quite legal under existing laws.

see what that does to these company’s brand values

I’d sooner believe Private Eye than sad Tory apologists trying to defend the morally indefensible. And 8 what relevance does does 4.75 have, typical right wing troll trying trivia to divert from the substantive point. Vodafone’s tax liability was estimated at £7billion they twisted and fought for years until their options finally ran out and the figure they were due to pay was six billion, they were prepared to pay £2.5 billion up front and still argue about minimising or delaying the rest until Hartnett told them they didn’t have to. Hartnett has also given them a sweetheart deal on future taxes. This is unlawful as the Phoney Pharoah found out.

10 – The only people to estimate Vodafone’s tax liability have been Private Eye. In the court hearings so far, it was found that no tax could apply to the transaction. They have subsequently settled.

And the relevance of 1.25bn is that the OP said that experts estimate that Vodafone have saved £6bn in tax. Even on the highest projections of liability that’s just nonsense. The ignorance on this site about law and finance is astonishing.

9 – Including every payment to R&D budgets, every alteration in pension provision, every deal concluded abroad? The amount of tax paid by companies is pretty damn complicated…

Tim J

first with private eye and Vodafone. I know that legally it was concluded that Vodafone had no tax liability, but if you think Vodafone has been “let off” tax, you think HMRC could have pursued Vodafone in the courts and have won a different legal decision. So aren’t we interested in what tax would have been claimed by HMRC under that scenario?

on the HMRC telly advert idea – I don’t mean try to explain the full tax liability of a corporation, just pick a significant tangible action by the each firm. i.e. “this year Craft the owners of Cadbury moved headquarters for tax purposes to Switzerland and reduced their expected tax payments to the UK by £Xm” (or whatever) After all, if HMRC wants to maximize its revenues, ought it not want to disseminate perfectly accurate information that may cause firms to reconsider their tax minimizing strategies?

then they could have a website which explains why the above is perfectly legal and perhaps a bit about what the UK’s legislative options are if we don’t like it.

Who wants to pay more tax? If you do, send your voluntary donation to the Treasury. Lead by example or shut up moaning.

The tax avoided by big buisnesses, although a disgusting amount, is dwarfed by the tax payed to keep corrupt banks like RBS going, why is it so qiuet about this now? Its seems activists get bored of one issue then move onto something new, they are playing into the Tories hands. And why not have a protest about benefits cheats as well, I imagine they cost the country even more that Mr Green, an idol for the modern capitalist.