Starbucks agrees to pay more corporation tax

Starbucks has agreed to pay more UK corporation tax, after a public outcry over how little it pays.

Kris Engskov, managing director of Starbucks UK announced that the company would pay “a significant amount of tax during 2013 and 2014, regardless of whether the company is profitable”. One tax expert described the move as “unprecedented”.

The extra tax could amount to £20 million, with  Mr Engskov adding “We are going to do what’s required beyond the law”.

The question here is instead of companies being pressured into voluntarily paying more than the law requires to appease everyone, why don’t the government close the loopholes and ways round the law corporations like Starbucks take advantage of year after year.

Because all Starbucks are doing is offering up a token gesture and choosing to pay tax on their terms, that doesn’t really solve the problem.