Gov.UK begs Google 'n' U.S. tech pals: Forget Ireland, come to Blighty The government has opened an initiative to try to tempt US tech companies to set up shop in the UK – rather than our "tax rate lite" neighbour Ireland. The "HQ-UK" initiative is intended to showcase why Blighty is the best place to establish an international base. Part of the efforts include a "concierge service" offering a …
The one thing the UK government could do to undermine Ireland's attractiveness to American companies would be to join the Euro.
It's not just a tax-wheeze that these companies are looking for. They want a base in a major trading zone, where people speak English, and there isn't so much veiled hostility towards the USA.
(That latter point was made to be more than once by American colleagues about why they didn't like travelling to the UK, but I'd say it counts for more than any amount of tax schemes...)
"The one thing the UK government could do to undermine Ireland's attractiveness to American companies would be to join the Euro."
How is tying ourselves to a failing part of the world by joining the ill thought through mechanism which is sinking said part of the world? Surely American companies would be more interested in successful countries/groups?
>The ECB is trying mightily to rise above all the national fiscal and monetary agendas within the Eurozone, but it remains to be seen whether they can actually succeed.
You mean, "impose a single government?" That is the only way a single currency would ever work but it will never happen in Europe.
I think that's a good thing. I value harmonious relationships through diversity not over-riding local objections.
The eurozone may be sinking, but it appears the UK can manufacture its own economically disastrous debt mountain.
@ P. Lee
"The eurozone may be sinking, but it appears the UK can manufacture its own economically disastrous debt mountain."
Doing it yourself is unpopular. Having others do it to you is far worse. No choice. No democracy. No freedom. Just more debt because the rest of the 'club' want to punish you. And your voice, rights, choice, freedom doesnt matter.
%70 of euro currency sales going through a computer in London, buying euros shares with imaginary euros and selling shares with imaginary euros is simple.
Running a manufacturing business on low margins when you buy raw material in $, set your prices and make sales in euro and pay your taxes in GBP is trickier.
"Running a manufacturing business on low margins when you buy raw material in $, set your prices and make sales in euro and pay your taxes in GBP is trickier."
I guess we could always cut manufacturing red-tape by leaving the EU, this retaining the flexibility of our own currency and improving efficiency at same time.
The EU with it's "thou shalt not" attitude over individual action around attracting business, and it's drive towards "harmonization" (in other words removing competition by trying to make all countries adopt the same tax rates and policies) is just making the Eurozone (and EU) less attractive to business.
None of them are going to have actual new employees in Britain.
Google's HQ in Ireland only employs one person, admittedly he is the hardest worker int he word - being personally responsible for all Google's EU sales.
The only people that benefit from the HQ being a brass plaque at a lawyers office in London rather than Dublin are lawyers.
Google's HQ in Ireland only employs one person, admittedly he is the hardest worker int he word - being personally responsible for all Google's EU sales.
Complete and utter rubbish. Opponents of low corporation tax levels always like to reel out the line that all it'll achieve is a movement of brass nameplates, and no additional employment whatsoever. The problem is, it's not true. It generally creates lots of employment, as outlined in the article. They appear to be wasting an enormous amount of cash on a large office building for a single employee:
https://www.google.co.uk/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/reo-to-sell-montevetro-building-to-google.html
Why would they waste all that money? In fact, a quick search reveals that Google employs about 2,500 people in Ireland, and is spending an awful lot of money there.
A little bit more useful to Ireland's economy than a single employee and a desk.
HQ might be a mis-nomer.
What it comes down to is which company owns the IP rights.
Companies are a bit of legal fiction. IP is a bit of legal fiction. If you want intellectual property to exist, then you have to put up with fiction. If you want British companies to be able to license IP abroad, you have to accept foreign companies doing the same. "Oh but they employ more people in London" has nothing to do with profit because a foreign company owns all the bits of value.
You want international trade? Lack of profits to tax is a result of that and no, big corporates not making profit locally is not the reason for the government running a stupidly high deficit which will rebound and cause a disaster. Neither will Google et al paying the amount of tax you've thought up fix your deficit. Stop spending more than you earn, especially on killing people abroad.
>The government made no mention of the upcoming Diverted Profits tax legislation, which would introduce a 25 per cent tax on company profits made in UK but diverted abroad,
As opposed to the only 20 percent tax if you setup locally. The only way that is much incentive is if the UK market wasn't fairly insignificant to the world market which it is.
I think the UK needs to figure out what it is they actually want. Do you want companies to either move there or be started there? Then lower the costs. If you just want to lash out and penalize companies for doing business there then carry on as normal.
The first step might even be to do some research into why US companies completely dominate the tech sector.
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