Vodafone closed down in Oxford for refusing to pay taxes.

Vodaphone have paid exactly what the Inland Revenue and the High Court have ordered them to pay.
Your knowledge of tax law is obviously better than the High Court's.

When have the High Court ordered Vodafone to pay anything? The only thing at all similar that I can find is when the Supreme Court "refused to hear a legal appeal launched by mobile telecommunications firm Vodafone against a GBP2.2bn" [1] because "it was ruled that the deal broke anti-tax avoidance rules". [2]

HMRC then did a deal with Vodafone so that they would only have to pay £1.25m in a deal described by an HMRC chief as an 'unbelievable cave-in.' [3]

The law is clear - HMRC can do deals and let big corporations off the hook. Nobody in UK Uncut has claimed Vodafone have broken the law - just that this decision is unjust.

[1]  http://www.lowtax.net/asp/story/front/Vodafones_Tax_Appeal_Rejected_By_UK_Supreme_Court_____41001.html
[2]  http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=514832&in_page_id=2
[3]  http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2010/10/vodafone-rebukes-tax-claim/

PS - I think your caps lock might be stuck?

HMCR did a deal with Vodaphone. If it was the wrong deal, then whoever did the deal should be sacked.

So what are you saying? That Vodaphone should have gone into that meeting saying, 'Oh, please, please, let me pay more tax ...'


DAmn CAPs LOCk!

> HMCR did a deal with Vodaphone. If it was the wrong deal, then whoever did the deal should be sacked.

Yep!

> So what are you saying? That Vodaphone should have gone into that meeting saying, 'Oh, please, please, let me pay more tax ...'

Not quite. They should just pay the taxes - not sure they should get a meeting with HMRC. My tax is just taken from me, I do not get a chance to negotiate with HMRC. I pay or, or I get nicked. Why is it different for Vodafone?

And, if they do get a meeting with HMRC, it is unrealistic to assume that they will want to pay more tax than they are due. But they employ many accountants and lawyers to pay as little tax as is possible. I find it hard to link this view with their stated aim:
"At Vodafone, we're committed to using our resources to make a positive contribution through our Corporate Responsibility (CR) programme. Through CR, we focus on making a positive impact on the environment, on society and on those with special needs." [ http://www.vodafone.ie/aboutus/csr/ ]

I would be interested to know what positive impact they are having, and whether it amounts to more than what would have been achieved by paying the over £4bn unpaid tax.

How do you know Vodaphone owes £4 billion? Been through their accounts, have you? Expert in tax law?

If not, you're guessing. Shutting down a business on the basis of guesswork. Really clever.

"My tax is just taken from me, I do not get a chance to negotiate with HMRC."

Of all the stupid and facile remarks made on Indymedia, this comes high on the list.

So you think the tax authorities should just be able to take what they like, without any grounds for appeal? And you don't think that is authoritarian?

> How do you know Vodaphone owes £4 billion? Been through their accounts, have you? Expert in tax law?

No, and I have never claimed to be. However many experts in tax law have expressed surprise at how low the figure that Vodafone was asked to pay was. Nobody has access to the accounts other than Vodafone and the HMRC - so do you know that the deal that was reached was fair? Do you have access to their accounts? Are you just guessing? What evidence do you have that the figure reached was fair?

> If not, you're guessing. Shutting down a business on the basis of guesswork. Really clever.

Has Vodafone, as a business, been shut down? I must of missed that. Or are you conflating shutting down a shop as an act of protest with putting a company out of business?

>"My tax is just taken from me, I do not get a chance to negotiate with HMRC."
> Of all the stupid and facile remarks made on Indymedia, this comes high on the list.

Really? I feel it's quite moderate. But maybe I have been on Indymedia longer, and have seen more comments? I've been on long enough to remain polite, and long may this thread remain so.

>So you think the tax authorities should just be able to take what they like, without any grounds for appeal? And you don't think that is authoritarian?

No, I have never said that. Just that they should pay the taxes they are fairly due, and that HMRC, in the view of many tax experts and others, are incapable of getting that agreement. The problem with that is what exactly?

Very obvious: 'Nobody has access to the accounts other than Vodafone and the HMRC'.

So you nor I nor anyone else can make an informed judgement.

If you have a grouse, it's against HMCR and not Vodaphone. Go and picket them.

What right do you have to shut a shop on the basis of guesswork?

Good on you! Tax dodging is just stealing from the public purse. These companies who hold us to ransome should be named and shamed for the thieving gits they are.

Furthermore, their complicity in assisting Egypt's brutal dictatorship shows unambiguously what utter bastards they are. I hope a new free regime fucking bans them from trading there in the future,

We all need to stand up to these brutal corporations, and not bend over and touch our toes like our "guest", Pedant.

It's a pity your posting isn't as strong on logic or coherence as on enthusiasm.

who do you work for then ?