So we are just going to ignore the 20% sales tax that got slapped onto the 1.2bn worth of sales? cool
If I buy an iphone as part of a Vat registered business I can claim that vat back. So does that Vat get booked twice?
It is paid by consumers because they are the ones that ultimately pay it. Businesses that pay vat can claim it back so that the 'value added' only gets taxed once. Apple has added value, but so have others.
VAT is paid by businesses, who collect it on behalf of HMRC on any sales they make.
Yes, it adds 20% to the price of goods sold. But you could say this of any tax: if Apple was paying £200m in UK corporate taxes then it's a fair bet that prices would increase to compensate.
What is unfair, however, is the way that multi-nationals can shift profits across borders to low tax countries, putting them at an advantage relative to domestic competition who pay full UK corporate tax rates.
That unfairness is inherent to corporate income tax. Apple reports profits in Ireland because the rate is lower there, but if the rates were lower in the US or China or some other place where they actually have major operations and they reported profits there instead, the argument that the profits don't belong there falls away even though you have the same end result. And the same disadvantage for domestic companies compared to international ones.
The solution is to stop trying to tax "profit" to begin with and only tax the thing that actually happens in your jurisdiction (e.g. sales, employment, property ownership).
If you are trying to consider whether it is fair then you would dump corporation tax in an instant and start considering capital gains and dividends as normal income.
Taxing dividends as income seems sensible, capital gains should be distinct. You can make a loss for a start. The income tends to be lumpier, if you sell you business for $100k should you be taxed as earning $100kpa when that's your income from 5 years work?
It's easier for big companies to avoid it giving them an unfair advantage over their smaller competitors.
Also, at least in the UK, it's often used as a way for employees to avoid paying income tax. The tax authorities have been trying to stop this for years with questionable success.
The recent dividend allowance changes have I believe negated the advantages, that's what they're supposed to do at least, you're always going to have problems when the rules are written down, and people can choose when and how they pay themselves in a way that most advantages themselves.
We seem to be on the same page re corporation tax. I wouldn't say its the tax itself that's unfair, just the people 'avoiding' it.
You could equally say that if Apple didn't exist, people would buy a smartphone anyway, so the Vat would be paid anyway.