UK corporation tax rate July 5, 2016
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
Hardly surprising Michael Noonan is playing down the announcement that the British government intends to cut the UK corporation tax rate to 15% or less. What else can he do? And he has a point when he notes that it had already said that it would cut it to 17% by 2020, but it’s yet another uncomfortable reminder of the after-effects of the Brexit referendum. And this before Brexit becomes anything like a reality. It’s going to be a long two plus years before we discover what the final(?) dispensation is going to be like. And it’s going to be particularly difficult for this state and this island. And, we’re still only in the first two weeks following the referendum.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
The Little Britain post-pre-Brexit hyper-neoliberalism is behaving exactly as I predicted – first stop corporate tax arbitrage.
I can’t see any corporations moving to Little Britain as a result however – arbitrage is dependent on being able to book activity elsewhere in the tax-avoidance host country.
For example Gargle, Fuckyoubook and Krapple all book European earnings in Ireland as part of the Double Irish, that hasn’t gone away, you know. This scam is dependent on being within the EU.
Little Britain may or may not remain in the EU, therefore it’s not much of a safe bet in this respect.
For the hiding of the gains of drug dealing, dictatorship etc. the City of London remains a good bet. Perhaps they should concentrate on being the Cayman Islands with more financial / technical expertise.
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This article from the Tax Justice Network – How Ireland became an Offshore Financial Centre. bears careful re-reading.
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Concern about the effect on Ireland North and South of the Further British reduction in UK corporation tax is well grounded. But there is a wider and more threatening aspect of the British decision for the whole world including Ireland.
There has been an unstated non agression pact between major capitalist countries on the matter of corporation profits tax. There has,of course, been a defree of tax competition. However the proposal by a major capitalist country such as Britain to move below 15% is a huge step which cannot be ignored by Germany, France, US,Japan.
Gewerkschaftler is right when he says it isa further step toards an extreme neo-liberal/extreme capitalist Britain. But it is also astep towards an even more neo-liberal world.
The response of the Irish employers (through IBEC below) sets out the new “Super Competitive” model-Negligible tax on business, lower taxes on large incomes, lower pay,lower welfare, higher indirect taxes on working and unemployed people etc
Late capitalism is becoming even more damaging to human well being.
There is an aspect of the Brexit followed by lower corporation tax which is even more worrying. It is the inherent conflict involved between large capitalist powers. The battle for markets led to the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago.
Could the new inter-imperialist war be about the location and taxation of global investment?
World capitalism need to be eradicated and soon!
UK to set new corporation tax below 15%-Financial Times
But Ireland North and South Has No Sovereignty to Act other than to deepen austerity
Irish Employers Demand Massive Move to The Right
IBEC says: “We need to slash capital gains tax, cut the marginal tax rate to attract mobile talent and bring the tax treatment of share options into line with the UK and other competitor economies. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines and see what happens.”
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Political Developments in Germany are worth watching
See in Irish Times to-day:
Derek Scally: Germany signals rethink on Europe post-Brexit
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BREXIT LEADER GROVE SEES GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT AS OBSTACLE TO SUPER-COMPETITIVE ULTRA-NEO LIBERAL BRITAIN
“What Gove was really worried about was that the Belfast Areement was, as he put it, “a Trojan horse” for democratic reform across the UK. It introduces proportional representation. Horrifically, “it enshrines a vision of human rights which privileges contending minorities at the expense of the democratic majority”. Even worse, “it offers social and economic rights””. Fintan O’Toole, Irish Times
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On those German developments Paddy – Germany is now locked down into pre-national election mode, just about.
This situation in the partial hegemon is really unfortunate timing for the rest of Europe, because the German government will fight any kind of innovation tooth an nail, while the shop falls apart around them.
But part of the German election process is that the SPD must distance itself from its coalition partners, the CDU/CSU. Same old same old with former social democrats.
So cue the moves by the SPD chair to pay lip-service the the concept of a social Europe (always couched in terms of ‘growth’ from which ‘jobs’ naturally follow, of course), and Schäuble insisting that there is no prospect of any kind of structural investment and stimulus. Of course the SPD stops short of any kind of direct stimulus through the European Investment Bank and such like.
There may be divisions developing within the European ruling and owning classes and the politicians that represent them, but German interventions will, sadly, remain mainly directed at the domestic audience.
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