... ask MNers to boycott Starbucks?

[legoballoon]

Personally, I won't be spending any money there again.

When I read the 'we pay our fair share of tax' statement, I almost choked on my (home made) hot chocolate. It's one law for the rich, another for us now is it?!

I think we should support small, UK-based independent coffee shops. Let's support businesses that generate wealth that is shared by local people.

There you go.

I've ordered a coffee machine and one of those not a paper cup from amazon I will make my gingerbread syrup and I'm sorted

mrsrhett lake land do it...

I dont like starbucks. I do love Costa coffee though.

I'm in. I will walk the eleven yards to Costa/Nero/Indie! My sacrifice is mighty!

I now live in a country (italy) with no Starbucks or Costas. For now.
But I am in. Not just for the taxes thing, but because the coffee is undrinkable, the portions enormous.

A new Starbucks is being built 2 mins from my house. I was going to give it a try but won't be now thanks to their dodgy tax-avoiding ways.

Do love a Nero though, one-shot Vanilla latte for me. Hope they're not too dodge.

I have never gone to Starbucks apart from at airports which is the correct place for such soulless corporate shitola.

Im in!

I can make a fab Gingerbread latte. With whipped cream and a light dusting of nutmeg.

*runs off to check supplies of gingerbread syrup.

With you in principle but can't stand their coffee so don't use anyway. This thread has inspired me to get a flask and take my own lovely coffee to work in the morning.

Will never buy from them again.

Starbucks is pretty much the only coffee I like from the local high street shops. Everyone else seems to burn theirs.

O do have a new posh Thermos too, and am going to use it!

Can't say I have ever been to a Starbucks, (would rather go home and have a coffee) but I am disgusted with them over the avoidance of tax.

I'm in your gang now!

There aren't any in this area of Scotland, we're in Costa land so I can boycott them easily! Costa also has the irritating Italian sizes, silly in a non-Italian company. Agree re preferring small, medium and large which is what I usually ask for anyway.

Starbucks haven't avoid any tax at all.

They have £millions of UK sales. That's not the same as UK profit. Our tax regime, and everyone else's, taxes profits. There's actually a reasonable argument to say that everyone globally should switch to taxing turnover rather than profits but that won't happen anytime soon.

The tax legislation forces them to use transfer pricing to ensure that they price transactions between Starbucks companies in different countries at an arm's length rate. No more, no less. That's all it does. It's not a loophole, just an instruction telling companies what price they should charge if they're in the same group.

So what if they use a Swiss company to purchase coffee beans for all of the European Starbucks companies? It makes sense for one central company to do it to take advantage of economies of scale. If the UK company sourced its own coffee beans that (i) its costs would go up because it would have to run another operation of sourcing coffee beans; and (ii) it would pay more per kilo of coffee beans because it wouldn't have the advantages of economies of scale. If it purchased coffee beans from someone other than a Starbucks company then it would pay that independent company the same price as it's paying the Swiss company. So no difference to its profits/losses there then.

Exactly the same with roasting the beans. If you think it shouldn't pay another Starbucks company to do it then where do you think it should get its roasted beans from? Should it roast them itself (reduced profits) or pay an independent company to do it (same profits, certainly not increased)?

There are so many examples of really nasty tax avoidance out there - this ain't one of them.

Sorry no can do. The christmas drinks are the only thing that gets me through the bleak dark winter

I'm in. I too really hate the portion sizes (of coffee) and general bullshit, though I have been in before.
But should we also boycott the Rolling Stones?

I refuse to say grande or whatever, I find it embarrassing.

Scrabledsmegs makes a vg point up thread. I vote Mumsnet bans HMRC!

I'm happy to boycott Starbucks, if I can go to Pret. Or are they scheming tax dodging bastards as well?

storminabuttercup I'd like your recipe please.

I was wondering if I would see this! Well done lego, it will be Costa or the tea rooms for me now. A bloke was suggesting a boycott on the tv this morning. I think they'll be quaking! Starbucks must be choc to the rafters with mumnetting women and it could turn into Nestle ie everyone hates them but sometimes it's quite hard to remember why. Toxic.

Can you hear it? The sound of tumbleweed blowing across the floor of your local Starbucks.......

storminabuttercup I'd like your recipe too!

I do understand that point about HMRC being the ones who've made the legislation 'read' the way it does, but it makes me extremely cross.

Has anyone read Cinnabars post? She explains perfectly why a boycott isn't the way to go. They aren't doing anything illegal at all. If you disagree with how corporation tax works then lobby your mp.