15/dec/2012(sat)

[yoon.]

Starbucks Offers to Pay More British Tax Than Required

PARIS — Starbucks offered on Wednesday to pay about £10 million ($16.05 million) a year in corporate taxes in Britain — or £10 million more than it paid last year — in an effort to defuse protests against its lack of contributions to public coffers at a time when ordinary taxpayers are feeling the effects of government spending cuts.

 “I am announcing changes which will result in Starbucks paying higher corporation tax in the U.K. — above what is currently required by law,” Kris Engskov, managing director of Starbucks in Britain, said in a speech to the London Chamber of Commerce.

Starbucks said that in 2013 and 2014 it would refrain from claiming certain tax deductions that helped reduce its tax bill to zero in Britain over the last three years.

The tax practices of Starbucks, along with those of other United States multinational companies, including Google and Amazon, have come under intense scrutiny recently in Britain, where the government has announced plans to extend its fiscal discipline for another year.

In its 14 years of doing business in Britain, Starbucks has paid a total of £8.6 million ($13.8 million) in corporate taxes there.

The company has reduced its tax bill in Britain by channeling revenue through the company’s other subsidiaries in jurisdictions where tax rates are lower. One unit in the Netherlands, for example, receives royalty payments from Britain.

Because of these strategies and other factors, including high rents, Starbucks says it lost money in Britain last year even though it generated sales of £398 million from more than 700 stores.

Similar tax-reduction strategies are employed by many multinational companies.

But Mr. Engskov said that Starbucks would not make the royalty payments and other transfers over the next two years, and he added that if the company remained unprofitable in Britain, it would consider extending this beyond 2014.

Mr. Engskov said the proposal had not been discussed with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the British tax collector, which reacted coolly in a statement.

“Corporation tax is not a voluntary tax and Parliament sets out the rules and rates for businesses to follow,” the agency said, though it did not comment directly on Starbucks. “The public expects businesses to pay their fair share and H.M.R.C. will challenge, through the courts if necessary, any structures or tax payments that do not comply with the U.K. tax law.”

U.K. Uncut, a group that is campaigning against the government’s fiscal policies, has called for protests outside Starbucks stores on Saturday. The group dismissed the latest announcement from the company as a ploy.

“Offering to pay some tax if and when it suits you doesn’t stop you being a tax dodger,” Hannah Pearce, a spokeswoman for U.K. Uncut, said in a statement. “Today’s announcement is just a desperate attempt to deflect public pressure.”

N. Korea May Delay Launch of Rocket Carrying Satellite

North Korea said it may delay a planned rocket launch after neighboring nations protested and Japan and the U.S. made preparations to shoot down any missile that’s deemed to pose a threat.

“Our scientists and technicians are now seriously examining the issue of re-adjusting the launching time of the satellite for some reasons,” state-run Korea Central News Agency reported yesterday, citing earlier comments by a spokesman for the Korean Committee of Space Technology. No elaboration was given.

A soldier of the Ground Self-Defense Force (SDF) stands guard in front of Japan's SDF set Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile launcher at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 6, 2012. Kim Jong Un’s regime said on Dec. 1 it would launch a long- range rocket to orbit a satellite between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. The plan prompted Japan to ready its military to destroy any possible debris.

A soldier of the Ground Self-Defense Force (SDF) stands guard in front of Japan's SDF set Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile launcher at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 6, 2012. Kim Jong Un’s regime said on Dec. 1 it would launch a long- range rocket to orbit a satellite between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. The plan prompted Japan to ready its military to destroy any possible debris. Photographer: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

Kim Jong Un’s regime said on Dec. 1 it would launch a long- range rocket to orbit a satellite between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. The plan prompted the U.S. to deploy ships capable of intercepting the rocket, and Japan to ready its military to destroy any possible debris. North Korea made a rare admission of failure four hours after April’s botched test that scuttled a food aid deal with the U.S.

“Given the cold weather and North Korea’s technical level, it would be difficult for it to succeed with this launch,” Koh Yu Hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, said yesterday. “Opposition from the new Chinese leadership is another major constraint.”

Solidifying Status

South Korea’s Unification Ministry urged the North to scrap the plan, saying it poses a serious threat to security in northeast Asia. The communist regime is seeking to solidify its status as a nuclear state, and the rocket launch is aimed at developing the means to deliver nuclear warheads, the ministry said in a statement dated Dec. 7.

“Another failure would deal a heavy blow to Kim’s regime,” Koh said. “He would lose more than gain, so his best tactic is to keep the threat open and maximize its bargaining power.”

Japan has yet to confirm‎ any North Korean postponement of its launch plans, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said yesterday in an appearance on Fuji Television.

North Korea expects the rocket’s fuselage to fall about 140 kilometers (87 miles) west of South Korea and its second stage to drop into waters about 136 kilometers east of the Philippines, South Korea’s Transportation Ministry said on Dec. 7, citing launch plans the North submitted to the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Presidential Elections

Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto on Dec. 7 ordered his military to intercept and destroy any part of the rocket that threatened the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said, adding that a threat wasn’t expected.

North Korea’s plans coincide with South Korea’s Dec. 19 presidential election. Both ruling party candidate Park Geun Hye and opposition nominee Moon Jae In are calling for re-engagement after five years of deteriorating ties marked by atomic bomb and missile tests and two clashes in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.

Kim has shown no willingness to heed international calls to halt nuclear weapons development.

North Korea has invested about $480 million to ready its rocket launch, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung Hwan told lawmakers last week. South Korea estimates the launch site to have cost $400 million, a further $50 million for parts manufacturing operations near Pyongyang, and $30 million for the satellite itself, he said.

North Korea’s military arsenal includes Scud, Rodong and Musudan missiles. The Musudan has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and can carry a 650 kilogram warhead, according to South Korea’s defense ministry.

[Ji_soo]

i do overwork thesedays ->means i cannot go this sat.too sorry see you soon!:(

[yoon.]

hope all is well!

[ET.Megan]

I also overwork lately -> Implying i won't be able to make it this sat... But will show up next Sat ! Sorry ;(

[yoon.]

hope all is well!!

[Andy(staff)★]

준비하겠습니다^^

[park.]

사정이생겨서 이번주에는 못갈것같습니다. 다음주에는 참석하겠습니다.^^