Re:Apple to Pay £3.8m Tax on £1.2bn UK Sales
by grey-area on Monday July 01, 2019 @11:00AM
(#20325931)
Am I missing something here?
Yes, stated profits are highly malleable.
The figures can be adjusted so that the company runs at a slight profit or slightly loss quite easily, by adjusting how certain things are accounted for, and how much profit is reinvested, distributed to staff, or paid to subsidiaries in tax havens. So just stating the revenue or profit isn't really enough to understand whether this tax is equitable or fair. It's definitely a grey area, and one in which good accountants could easily massage the figures.
Yes, stated profits are highly malleable.
The figures can be adjusted so that the company runs at a slight profit or slightly loss quite easily, by adjusting how certain things are accounted for, and how much profit is reinvested, distributed to staff, or paid to subsidiaries in tax havens. So just stating the revenue or profit isn't really enough to understand whether this tax is equitable or fair. It's definitely a grey area, and one in which good accountants could easily massage the figures.