World leaders rubber-stamp tax recoup effort at G20 gabfest

The leaders meeting of the G20 group of nations has endorsed existing approaches to combating international legal-but-naughty tax avoidance schemes. Tax was on the agenda of the weekend gabfest because most G20 members are painfully aware that their balance sheets don't look great, in part because multinational companies have …

[Anonymous Coward]

The countries that are tax havens are not going to sign up.

[Graham Marsden]

@AC - FTFY

The politicians whose rich mates are benefitting from this are not going to make *that* much of an effort to actually do anything about it because they'll get a "million quid a year for nominally working 24 hours" directorship promised to them...

[Tom 35]

Re: @AC - FTFY

Maybe the supply of directorships and fat brown envelops have fallen off so they need to add some encouragement.

[Anonymous Coward]

To be more exact - the countries that are tax havens are not members of the G20.

So just exchanging data is not enough.You need to actually act on data and have the legal basis to do so.

[tfewster]

> Profits should be taxed where economic activities deriving the profits are performed ...

Tax havens don't matter if the money doesn't make it to their borders.

> ...and where value is created...

That part intrigues me. If Apple design a desirable product, will they be taxed even if they don't sell that model in the U.S.A./California? Is it a return to double-taxation, or just a swipe at the Starbucks "royalty" model?

[James Micallef]

"The countries that are tax havens are not going to sign up."

Any company that makes significant money operates in at least 1 of the G-20, more likely in many of them or even all 20. If they agree between themselves on rules that don't allow profit transfers elsewhere unless they're taxed locally, it doesn't matter if tax havens don't sign up. The havens will just get squeezed out once the big countries change the rules.

For example, IP. Google develops this mostly in US, but has IP registered in Bermuda (count employed engineers in US and Bermuda). US can simply say: If your IP really is that valuable, when Google US transfers the IP to Google Bermuda, GB needs to pay GUS fair market value (which is then taxed in US). If GUS just transfers IP to GB at low cost, US can disallow IP-licensing payments made from GUS to GB as tax-deductible in the US on the grounds that G themselves gave that IP away free/cheap

[JeffyPoooh]

Slap in import duty on "imports" of IP rights

E.g. "Trademark Royalties" (a.k.a. untaxed profits) going out, with supposed "rights" being "imported" to balance the books.

Slap an import duty on 'em. Like, this morning. Order in Council or whatever it's called. Then have lunch.

[P. Lee]

But I thought western free-market democracies were all in favour of competition!

What? No? We should have one law, one finance system for everyone? You'll be needing our one-size-fits-all one-world government then!

Don't worry, we already have a president and you won't have to pay a thing in taxes because its all funded by corporate donations. The rest of you who live in the third world outside America are welcome do that voting thing you seem to enjoy sometimes. It won't change anything, but it doesn't change anything in America either, so you aren't really missing out.

[Voland's right hand]

Re: But I thought western free-market democracies were all in favour of competition!

Hehe...

Different levels of competition, different levels. Competition between companies vs competition between countries. Competition between companies requires a level playing field which in turn in a global world requires a reasonably uniform tax and legal environment across all countries.

[Elmer Phud]

Oh dear

I doubt if anything positive will happen in dear 'ol Blighted

Especially considering the way that the Tories and UKKKIP rely on spare change from corporate tax-dodgers.

[Andrew Meredith]

Re: Oh dear

Oh look, some off topic UKIP bashing ..... yawn