Amazon U.K. Unit paid £2.4 million tax on sales of £4.3 billion

Paid £2.4m Tax on £4.2bn Sales In 2012
Accounting through a Luxembourg sales unit allows the
retail giant to pay less in UK taxes than it received in government grants.


8:17pm UK,
Wednesday 15 May 2013

Amazon's warehouse in Milton Keynes

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  Amazon.com's main UK unit paid £2.4m in taxes in 2012 on sales of
  £4.3bn, newly-published accounts have revealed.
  
  The accounts also showed the company received £2.5m in government grants over
  the course of the year.
  
  It is believed the company was able to report the relatively small corporate
  income tax bill because its sales to British customers are routed through a
  Luxembourg affiliate, Amazon EU Sarl.
  
  Corporate tax avoidance in the UK has become a political issue after
  revelations in recent years that multinational companies such as Apple Inc,
  Starbucks, Google and Microsoft have paid small amounts in relation to their
  sales.
  
  Labour MP Nick Brown said Amazon's tax contribution was "pathetic".
  
  "HMRC should be going through this company's tax arrangements with a
  fine-tooth comb," he said.
  
  Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming said the figures showed the inadequacy of
  existing rules to tackle the problem of profit shifting by major
  corporations.
  
  "The government clearly needs to do a detailed study on how to handle the tax
  implications of e-commerce," he said.
  
  A statement from Amazon emailed to Sky News said: "Amazon pays all applicable
  taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within.
  
  "Amazon EU serves tens of millions of customers and sellers throughout Europe
  from multiple consumer websites in a number of languages dispatching products to
  all 27 countries in the EU.
  
  "We have a single European headquarters in Luxembourg with hundreds of
  employees to manage this complex operation."
  
  In December, the Public Accounts Committee accused Amazon of behaving
  "immorally" in regard to taxes.
  
  Related stories:
  

And its all legal!

wjk wrote:And its all legal!

I honestly think Government , by any Party , hasn't the ability to make a stand and stop this nonsense of off shore Companies. Either amazon pay the correct tax or ban them from selling goods in the U.K......simple.!!!

Morning Panda, 100% agree.

wjk wrote:Morning Panda, 100% agree.

One of the Government Tax Advisers has a Company in Guernsey which only pays Corporation Tax of something like £300, when is any Government going to close these loopholes....never, because most use them.!!! wjk, it's one law for the rich and one for the poor.

I SAY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T BE GIVING GRANT MONEY TO AMAZON ANYWAY BECAUSE THEY MAKE SUCH BIG PROFITS ANYWAY, WHY DO THEY NEED GOVERNMENT MONEY.

Badboy wrote:I SAY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T BE GIVING GRANT MONEY TO AMAZON ANYWAY BECAUSE THEY MAKE SUCH BIG PROFITS ANYWAY, WHY DO THEY NEED GOVERNMENT MONEY.

Exactly Badboy! they are not contributing to the economy or manufacturing in the U.K.

Panda wrote:

Badboy wrote:I SAY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T BE GIVING GRANT MONEY TO AMAZON ANYWAY BECAUSE THEY MAKE SUCH BIG PROFITS ANYWAY, WHY DO THEY NEED GOVERNMENT MONEY.

Exactly Badboy! they are not contributing to the economy or manufacturing in the U.K.

Grant money!! You really couldn't make it up!

IF YOU PURCHASE A BOOK FROM FOYLES,TAX GETS PAID.

BOOKS ETC AND BLACKWELLS HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED AS ETHICAL ALTERNATIVES

The problem is Badboy that amazon is on the internet and they sell cheaper because they can afford to when they are not paying tax.

PAYING TAXES MIGHT BE THE LEAST OF AMAZON'S PROBLEMS BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AMAZON'S DOMINANCE MIGHT BE CHALLENGED BY SOMEONE ELSE,NOT SURE WHOM.

AMAZON'S PROFITS HAVE FALLEN CAUSING A 5% FALL IN SHARE PRICES.