Tax & Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tax & Ethics - Essay Example This paper will evaluate the role of companies, their professionals, and HM Revenue and Customs and will discuss whether ethical principles should be applied to the payment of tax. The four major sources used for drafting this paper are BBC, The Guardian, KPMG, and HMRC, because these sources were found potential for providing analytical information about the topic under consideration. However, only facts and figures have been mainly taken from such sources, for news reports tend to be biased depending on the reporters’ personal outlook. A BBC report dated on 21st November 2012 reflects that UK lost billions in lost revenues as a result of corporate tax avoidance by multinational corporations. The report points out that new tax avoidance schemes are emerging each year and the situation makes it difficult for HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) to curb this issue. According to National Audit Office, taxation authorities identified nearly 2,300 avoidance schemes between 2004 and 2011 (ibid). Since the actual figures of tax avoidance are not available, the UK government cannot estimate the accurate amount of loss. It has been identified that specialist tax advisers suggest best tax avoidance schemes for their clients; and this practice significantly contributes to the issue. Recently, Margaret Hodge walloped the big four accounting firm for helping companies avoid corporate taxes (as cited in Toynbee 2011). According to another BBC report dated on 3rd December 2012, some leading multinational companies including Starbucks, Amazon, and Google were severely criticised by UK government authorities for paying little or no tax. The UK government officials point that it is unfair for these companies to practice different schemes to avoid corporate taxes despite the fact that their UK operations account for hundreds of millions of pounds (BBC 2012). UK Prime Minister David Cameron states that international co-operation is necessary to tackle this issue because some for ms of tax avoidance are very difficult to address (David Cameron). In order to publicly express UK’ stance on tax avoidance, the HM Revenue & Customs publicly named top tax dodgers for the first time (as cited in King). Reportedly, Starbucks, Google, and Amazon are the three major multinational corporations that have practiced schemes to avoid corporate taxes. In addition, small businesses including Cheshire wine merchant, Menemis, and Brian Clifford Tattersall were also criticised for tax avoidance. Yet another BBC report says that Starbucks sold goods worth ?400m in UK in 2001 but paid nothing in corporate taxes (BBC news Business 2012). Starbucks managed to avoid corporate taxes by transferring some of its funds to a sister company in the form of royalty payments, buying coffee beans from Switzerland, and paying high interests rates other parts of the business in the account of borrowing (ibid). Similarly, on the strength of some well structured schemes, Google also notabl y reduced the amount paid in corporate taxes. As per reports, Google could trim down its tax bill by approximately $1bn a year by transferring profits to subsidiaries having low tax rates (O’Carroll 2011). A subsidiary located in Bermuda assisted Google to save nearly $3.1bn over a period of three years because corporate tax rate is zero in Bermuda (ibid). In response to this criticism, a Google spokesperson said: â€Å"we have an obligation to our shareholders to set up a tax-efficient

Viper's Den v. Jim Morriston Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Viper's Den v. Jim Morriston - Essay Example Unfortunately, the coffee was not wiped out on time because Flash attended to a phone call before cleaning it up. Jim Morriston was just through with his lunch and had taken two beers with it when he saw Flash and ran over to greet him. Jim Morriston did not see the coffee spill on the floor and neither did he see the bright yellow caution sign that warned of the slippery floor. As he was running towards Flash, he slipped and fell very heavily on the floor as a result of the coffee that had spilled on the floor. As he fell on the floor, he tried to support himself with his hands and ended up fracturing his arm in two places. As a result of this incident, Jim Morriston had to undergo surgery and he ended up spending two days in hospital so that he would be treated of the injuries he sustained from the fall. When Jim Morriston returned to Wyoming, he decided to sue Flash for negligence that led to the fall. A statement of the issues to be decided The major issues that need to be decide d include whether or not Flash has to litigate the case in Wyoming. Another major issue is whether Jim Morriston has a legitimate case of negligence over Flash and the Viper’s Den. In the first issue, Jim Morriston has sued Flash in Wyoming for neglect that led to his fall. He has gone to court right after he returned to his area of residence in Wyoming and has claimed the Flash neglected cleaning wiping off the coffee from the floor which resulted to the injuries and distress that he has today. Since the case is already in court in Wyoming, Flash needs to decide whether he has to litigate the case in Wyoming or not. Flash is of the idea that the state courts in Wyoming are not the proper jurisdiction for this particular type of case. He therefore has to decide whether he will proceed to litigate the case in Wyoming or he will challenge that decision made by Jim Morriston to take the case to the state courts at Wyoming. Another issue that needs to be decided is whether Jim Mo rriston has a legitimate case of negligence over Flash and the Viper’s Den. It has to be decided whether Jim Morriston was the one on the wrong for having taken two beers at lunch. It has to be decided whether the beers that Jim Morriston had taken impaired his sight, reasoning and actions to such an extent that he was not able to see the big bright yellow sign. The coffee spill should have been dealt with immediately so as to avoid any unnecessary accidents from occurring. However, had Jim Morriston been in his right state of mind, there would be higher chances that he would have seen the bright yellow sign and take caution to prevent him from falling. These major issues in this case therefore need to be decided in an attempt to resolve the case and come up with viable and legal solutions to the case at hand (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers & Langvardt, p. 340). Legal arguments that Flash can make against the case being litigated at Wyoming Flash can legally argue that if the reporte d incident took place in Bozeman, then Jim Morriston should have sued him in a court in Bozeman and not in Wyoming. Flash can argue that he does not do any business in Wyoming and the case would therefore lack objectivity if it was to be heard there. The state courts at Wyoming are not the proper jurisdiction for this type of case. The incident that is being reported tool place in a completely different