Business Ethics And Social Responsibility

[paulus 26]

Last night i switched the TV on and flicked through the channels, for reasons unknown i stopped at the committee looking into suspected tax evasion by Google, Gooogle had a representative and a man from there tax advisers (Ernest & Young) after watching this for 10 minutes or so it became quite clear that Google were legally evading UK tax by claiming to be an Irish company and routing money through offshore tax havens. Now not legally wrong this has to be ethically and morally wrong, The government is hitting the poor and disabled at every opportunity and yet seems to think its ok for super rich companies and individuals to avoid paying there fair share. In fact its even worse than that as the same auditors (tax advisers) are the very people who also advise the government on tax. So in theory they can write there own loopholes in tax law and then sell it to the fat cat customers. I don't think for one minute this only applies to tax, its probably rife throughout business and government. It looks to me as if the whole system is rotten to the core and a fresh approach to politics is needed one that puts the normal man in the street on the same footing as the social elite.

[walshie 2,804]

Same goes for Amazon and Starbucks, to name a few. You have to wonder who is getting the backhander to turn a blind eye, because someone definitely is.

[paulus 26]

Same goes for Amazon and Starbucks, to name a few. You have to wonder who is getting the backhander to turn a blind eye, because someone definitely is.

to be fair the committee was asking the right questions but it was obvious they new it was just a game and nothing would come of it

[fazza123 515]

[fazza123 515]

Have you watched this Paulus ? Yeh he's a bit strange but you can't deny he has some valid points to make.

[cammy12 176]

its a joke ive had my own business for 7 year and am making less now than when i started if am late or short with a vat return am fined and there is no reasoning with the vat man. Paulus your spot on about a new political system these fuckers that are in power now are rewarded by these big corps for not changing laws and create new laws to suit them, the system is rotten to the core.

ive said before have a read at what roger hayes and the brittish constituion group say it certainly gets you thinking.

[paulus 26]

Have you watched this Paulus ? Yeh he's a bit strange but you can't deny he has some valid points to make.

ive watched some of his stuff mate, I could not believe how blatant Google were when answering questions. half the time the committee couldn't even refer to Google by name, instead having to refer to it as the fictitious company

[pritch 335]

thing is it's always gone on & now coz people who work for these companies

have brought it to the attention of the nation politicians have to be seen to

react corporations are to powerful they tell governments what to do, but we

can have a say don't use google change your browser feck google chrome

off & gmail,as starbucks are finding out to their cost just coz it's legal don't

mean it's right hit em where it hurts, it don't even cost you

[WILF 46,549]

Last night i switched the TV on and flicked through the channels, for reasons unknown i stopped at the committee looking into suspected tax evasion by Google, Gooogle had a representative and a man from there tax advisers (Ernest & Young) after watching this for 10 minutes or so it became quite clear that Google were legally evading UK tax by claiming to be an Irish company and routing money through offshore tax havens. Now not legally wrong this has to be ethically and morally wrong, The government is hitting the poor and disabled at every opportunity and yet seems to think its ok for super rich companies and individuals to avoid paying there fair share. In fact its even worse than that as the same auditors (tax advisers) are the very people who also advise the government on tax. So in theory they can write there own loopholes in tax law and then sell it to the fat cat customers. I don't think for one minute this only applies to tax, its probably rife throughout business and government. It looks to me as if the whole system is rotten to the core and a fresh approach to politics is needed one that puts the normal man in the street on the same footing as the social elite.

Totally understand how people could feel this is immoral but the fact is most people see tax as a " moral" thing ( because that is the propaganda we have been fed for years).........it's totally the wrong way to look at it.

 

The fact is, morality has got nothing to do with tax........it's not even in the same ball park.

 

Tax is legalised appropriation of another persons money.......simple as that, nothing more, nothing less........morality doesn't come into it.

 

If you look at tax like this you will see why this is the case, say you have the best house, car, lawn mower in the street.........your neighbours hold a meeting and vote to " Tax" you some of your belongings in order to help the person whose mower has broken down, or whose car is not as new as yours ec etc..........no different to our current tax system......it's democratic and therefore fair ?

 

Or is it?

 

If we want to talk morality, we should look less at what companies like Google or whoever managed to LEGALLY safeguard from having appropriated from them ( for that is what it is) and more about what our various governments are wasting all these vast sums of appropriated cash on with so little thought to the value of the money

 

They can write off billions at a whim of other people's money on silly computer systems and other hair brain schemes never having to have earned a penny of that money themselves so it doesn't matter.......now that's immoral !!!,

 

These politicians are saddling our unborn children with thousands of pounds of debt and they have not even been bought into the world!!.......don't talk to me about tax being moral, it's bullshit

 

It's legalised theft and the proceeds are being wasted with no thought......tax moral? My arse!

Edited May 19, 2013 by WILF

[WILF 46,549]

According to Black's Law Dictionary, a tax is a "pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property owners to support the government [...] a payment exacted by legislative authority." It "is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution, exacted pursuant to legislative authority

 

I found the above, nothing about " moral" is mentioned

[pritch 335]

it ain't immoral,it's googles legal duty to be as tax efficient as possible, it's the tax system

thats wrong coz it ain't equal if i started a business & had an office in ireland claining to be

an irish firm but earn most of my business here i wouldn't get away with paying no tax here

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Bono. Just chucking that out there

 

[paulus 26]

 

Last night i switched the TV on and flicked through the channels, for reasons unknown i stopped at the committee looking into suspected tax evasion by Google, Gooogle had a representative and a man from there tax advisers (Ernest & Young) after watching this for 10 minutes or so it became quite clear that Google were legally evading UK tax by claiming to be an Irish company and routing money through offshore tax havens. Now not legally wrong this has to be ethically and morally wrong, The government is hitting the poor and disabled at every opportunity and yet seems to think its ok for super rich companies and individuals to avoid paying there fair share. In fact its even worse than that as the same auditors (tax advisers) are the very people who also advise the government on tax. So in theory they can write there own loopholes in tax law and then sell it to the fat cat customers. I don't think for one minute this only applies to tax, its probably rife throughout business and government. It looks to me as if the whole system is rotten to the core and a fresh approach to politics is needed one that puts the normal man in the street on the same footing as the social elite.

Totally understand how people could feel this is immoral but the fact is most people see tax as a " moral" thing ( because that is the propaganda we have been fed for years).........it's totally the wrong way to look at it.

 

The fact is, morality has got nothing to do with tax........it's not even in the same ball park.

 

Tax is legalised appropriation of another persons money.......simple as that, nothing more, nothing less........morality doesn't come into it.

 

If you look at tax like this you will see why this is the case, say you have the best house, car, lawn mower in the street.........your neighbours hold a meeting and vote to " Tax" you some of your belongings in order to help the person whose mower has broken down, or whose car is not as new as yours ec etc..........no different to our current tax system......it's democratic and therefore fair ?

 

Or is it?

 

If we want to talk morality, we should look less at what companies like Google or whoever managed to LEGALLY safeguard from having appropriated from them ( for that is what it is) and more about what our various governments are wasting all these vast sums of appropriated cash on with so little thought to the value of the money

 

They can write off billions at a whim of other people's money on silly computer systems and other hair brain schemes never having to have earned a penny of that money themselves so it doesn't matter.......now that's immoral !!!,

 

These politicians are saddling our unborn children with thousands of pounds of debt and they have not even been bought into the world!!.......don't talk to me about tax being moral, it's bullshit

 

It's legalised theft and the proceeds are being wasted with no thought......tax moral? My arse!

 

Whether you agree or disagree with the level of tax levied isn't the question, The question would be "should a company be allowed to get away with tax evasion" after all its not all companies that are doing this. We would all like to get away with either 1% or no tax but would it be a "moral" thing to do?. We are all a wear that there is no way the average worker on the street, No matter how big his house and car was, would be allowed to get away with it, so why should big companies? After all they don't do the same with the tax levied on there work force only there profits.

[twobob 1,497]

 

Last night i switched the TV on and flicked through the channels, for reasons unknown i stopped at the committee looking into suspected tax evasion by Google, Gooogle had a representative and a man from there tax advisers (Ernest & Young) after watching this for 10 minutes or so it became quite clear that Google were legally evading UK tax by claiming to be an Irish company and routing money through offshore tax havens. Now not legally wrong this has to be ethically and morally wrong, The government is hitting the poor and disabled at every opportunity and yet seems to think its ok for super rich companies and individuals to avoid paying there fair share. In fact its even worse than that as the same auditors (tax advisers) are the very people who also advise the government on tax. So in theory they can write there own loopholes in tax law and then sell it to the fat cat customers. I don't think for one minute this only applies to tax, its probably rife throughout business and government. It looks to me as if the whole system is rotten to the core and a fresh approach to politics is needed one that puts the normal man in the street on the same footing as the social elite.

Totally understand how people could feel this is immoral but the fact is most people see tax as a " moral" thing ( because that is the propaganda we have been fed for years).........it's totally the wrong way to look at it.

 

The fact is, morality has got nothing to do with tax........it's not even in the same ball park.

 

Tax is legalised appropriation of another persons money.......simple as that, nothing more, nothing less........morality doesn't come into it.

 

If you look at tax like this you will see why this is the case, say you have the best house, car, lawn mower in the street.........your neighbours hold a meeting and vote to " Tax" you some of your belongings in order to help the person whose mower has broken down, or whose car is not as new as yours ec etc..........no different to our current tax system......it's democratic and therefore fair ?

 

Or is it?

 

If we want to talk morality, we should look less at what companies like Google or whoever managed to LEGALLY safeguard from having appropriated from them ( for that is what it is) and more about what our various governments are wasting all these vast sums of appropriated cash on with so little thought to the value of the money

 

They can write off billions at a whim of other people's money on silly computer systems and other hair brain schemes never having to have earned a penny of that money themselves so it doesn't matter.......now that's immoral !!!,

 

These politicians are saddling our unborn children with thousands of pounds of debt and they have not even been bought into the world!!.......don't talk to me about tax being moral, it's bullshit

 

It's legalised theft and the proceeds are being wasted with no thought......tax moral? My arse!

 

wilf would the whole country have to vote for it to be democratic,and the neighbours elected by the whole country???

[WILF 46,549]

 

 

Last night i switched the TV on and flicked through the channels, for reasons unknown i stopped at the committee looking into suspected tax evasion by Google, Gooogle had a representative and a man from there tax advisers (Ernest & Young) after watching this for 10 minutes or so it became quite clear that Google were legally evading UK tax by claiming to be an Irish company and routing money through offshore tax havens. Now not legally wrong this has to be ethically and morally wrong, The government is hitting the poor and disabled at every opportunity and yet seems to think its ok for super rich companies and individuals to avoid paying there fair share. In fact its even worse than that as the same auditors (tax advisers) are the very people who also advise the government on tax. So in theory they can write there own loopholes in tax law and then sell it to the fat cat customers. I don't think for one minute this only applies to tax, its probably rife throughout business and government. It looks to me as if the whole system is rotten to the core and a fresh approach to politics is needed one that puts the normal man in the street on the same footing as the social elite.

 

Totally understand how people could feel this is immoral but the fact is most people see tax as a " moral" thing ( because that is the propaganda we have been fed for years).........it's totally the wrong way to look at it.

The fact is, morality has got nothing to do with tax........it's not even in the same ball park.

Tax is legalised appropriation of another persons money.......simple as that, nothing more, nothing less........morality doesn't come into it.

If you look at tax like this you will see why this is the case, say you have the best house, car, lawn mower in the street.........your neighbours hold a meeting and vote to " Tax" you some of your belongings in order to help the person whose mower has broken down, or whose car is not as new as yours ec etc..........no different to our current tax system......it's democratic and therefore fair ?

Or is it?

If we want to talk morality, we should look less at what companies like Google or whoever managed to LEGALLY safeguard from having appropriated from them ( for that is what it is) and more about what our various governments are wasting all these vast sums of appropriated cash on with so little thought to the value of the money

They can write off billions at a whim of other people's money on silly computer systems and other hair brain schemes never having to have earned a penny of that money themselves so it doesn't matter.......now that's immoral !!!,

These politicians are saddling our unborn children with thousands of pounds of debt and they have not even been bought into the world!!.......don't talk to me about tax being moral, it's bullshit

It's legalised theft and the proceeds are being wasted with no thought......tax moral? My arse!

Whether you agree or disagree with the level of tax levied isn't the question, The question would be "should a company be allowed to get away with tax evasion" after all its not all companies that are doing this. We would all like to get away with either 1% or no tax but would it be a "moral" thing to do?. We are all a wear that there is no way the average worker on the street, No matter how big his house and car was, would be allowed to get away with it, so why should big companies? After all they don't do the same with the tax levied on there work force only there profits.

There's that word, moral again.......morality when spoken of in terms of tax is nonsense mate.

 

It's a little like saying it was " moral" for the EU to raid all those people in Cyprus's bank accounts........it's got nothing to do with moral, it's JUST taking people's money to iron out how the politicians see fit

 

If the rules allowed them to do what they did then I my opinion they would be stupid not to do it.

Edited May 20, 2013 by WILF