Modern business

[devonwoody]

attached an invoice from Amazon. I placed an internet order with Amazon monday, and it was delivered 08.30am Wednesday morning Royal Mail, It to me would obviously mean that it was posted from and English address to arrive down here in Devon, (the tracking said despatched Tuesday)

Yet I am billed at a Euro conversion rate (of 1.18) which makes it more expensive to me.

If I placed an order with an English address and it was posted from an English address I do not think it right to be involved with a Euro exchange rate. Should I complain to my MP, (waste of time because he is a EU supporter, or his party is.

There is also the history that Amazon have a history of tax avoidance and perhaps this is part of the set up?

I feel like never buying from Amazon again, but I do like the price and prices :twisted:

 

[Graham Orm]

I can't see where the conversion rate has affected you? It could possibly be standard on all invoices?

 

[Harbo]

Sorry DW but it looks to me that you were invoiced in GBP's?

Did you buy from Amazon com or co.uk and is the price you paid the same as you were quoted when you placed the order?
If so, no issue I think?

Rod

 

[devonwoody]

Where I placed that asterisk, it states

Conversion rate - £1.00 : EUR 1,18

So cannot I assume they have used this rate to indicate how they priced up this invoice. (no doubt for their tax scheme)

 

[AndyT]

Yes, this a glimpse of how their tax avoidance works.
You bought your tablet from Amazon.eu SARL based in Luxembourg. (That's on the invoice.) They sent a delivery instruction to the separate UK Amazon distribution centre (Bedfordshire I think) who delivered it to you.
The bill is from the Luxembourg based company, so it's in Euros, converted to Sterling. Why Luxembourg? Much lower rates of corporation tax than the rest of Europe.
Read more and you will find that the huge UK distribution operation (very large and efficient) has its internal charging set so that it makes no profit at all and so pays no UK corporation tax.

This is what the fuss is about!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

As far as the OP is concerned, he was offered the goods at a given price plus a delivery charge, he agreed to that price, and paid it. The goods have been delivered (very quickly), and provided they are what he ordered, all is well.

When it comes to Amazon's tax affairs, they are doing only what UK and EU tax law allows them to do. You can't blame Amazon as long as what they are doing is within the law. Whether the law should be changed to close this particular loophole is another matter entirely (arguably it should be changed, since this particular practice disadvantages the small, local company against the multi-national).

Until either all tax law and tax rates are harmonised across the EU, or the UK withdraws from EU tax matters and sets all it's own tax laws and rates again, anomolies such as this will continue to arise. Which you find the preferable solution depends on your feelings about the EU in general.

The UK government appears to be doing nothing about this. That's because it can't do anything about it - except lobby Brussels for EU tax law to be ammended. That may take some time.

 

[Losos]

As far as the OP is concerned, he was offered the goods at a given price plus a delivery charge, he agreed to that price, and paid it. The goods have been delivered (very quickly), and provided they are what he ordered, all is well.

When it comes to Amazon's tax affairs, they are doing only what UK and EU tax law allows them to do. You can't blame Amazon as long as what they are doing is within the law. Whether the law should be changed to close this particular loophole is another matter entirely (arguably it should be changed, since this particular practice disadvantages the small, local company against the multi-national).

Until either all tax law and tax rates are harmonised across the EU, or the UK withdraws from EU tax matters and sets all it's own tax laws and rates again, anomolies such as this will continue to arise. Which you find the preferable solution depends on your feelings about the EU in general.

The UK government appears to be doing nothing about this. That's because it can't do anything about it - except lobby Brussels for EU tax law to be ammended. That may take some time.

Cheshire Chappie is spot on, all that Amazon are doing is abiding by the tax laws of the EU of which the UK are party to. The price that the goods arrive at the Befordshire distribution complex are set such that after adding the wages, council tax, national insurance tax, maintenance. electricity, and all the other 'overheads the Bedfordshire unit makes no profits, but hells bells all those 'overheads' are higher than most other parts of Europe anyway so they are are paying taxes, just not paying in the form that the government wants i.e. corporation tax 'cos that is what the government can spend on all the wonderful 'support' functions for the millions of UK citizens who allegedly need support.

No other country in Europe has so many citizens, so dependant on support, over such long time frames (Life times in many cases) so they can offer companies lower corporate tax incentives and obviously that's where the likes of Amazon go, it's so simple when you think about it :lol:

If the UK could afford to offer lower corporate taxes the big international companies would set up in UK and operate the same scheme in reverse with other countries in Europe. In other words the goods would be shipped from Bedfordshire to the Amazon distribution centre in Germany (Somewhere in the East, you can see it from the Autobahn) at a price which after paying the German overheads would mean no profit accruing to the German operation.

It will never happen because the German economy has no huge burden of debt built up by a rapidly expanding population that has somehow come to rely on handouts from government.

 

[James-1986]

It will never happen because the German economy has no huge burden of debt built up by a rapidly expanding population that has somehow come to rely on handouts from government.

What? Germany has a very large level of debt, something like 85% of GDP and rising.

"The Tory MP and tax lawyer Charlie Elphicke estimates 19 US-owned multinationals are paying an effective tax rate of 3% on British profits, instead of the standard rate of 26%. It's all entirely legal, of course. But taken together with the multiple individual tax scams of the elite, this roll call of corporate infamy has become an intolerable scandal, when taxes are rising and jobs, benefits and pay being cut for the majority. The total tax gap between what's owed and collected has been estimated by Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK at £120bn a year: £25bn in legal tax avoidance, £70bn in fraudulent tax evasion and £25bn in late payments.
"

Now I'm no mathematician, but I am pretty sure that this is more of a problem than benefit fraud. What are they doing to close these loopholes? They have already attacked tradesman by claiming getting paid in cash is 'immoral'. Governments are very skilled at divide and conquer, we fall for it every damn time :lol:

 

[AndyT]

Guys, let's remember rule 6.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums...ease-read-before-posting-05-02-13-t54297.html

(6.) No political discussion
Over the years there has been one subject in particular that has caused a few heated debates on the forums and that is politics. For that reason political discussion or political comments in a thread are not acceptable, please remember this is a woodworking forum after all. We do however understand that politics effects everyday life which is why some topics may be allowed depending on the circumstances.



This thread started with some very carefully neutrally worded statements but seems to be at risk of veering off in a different direction entirely.