A fantastic series by Aditya Chakrabortty on Boots. He carefully documents the ways in which Boots not only profits from general NHS prescriptions (fair enough) but how it has taken advantaged of other schemes that are used to […]
Research for NFU suggests the sector would have a mixed future outside the EU, with some farmers doing better than others This story in the Guardian points out that the subsidies that go to British farmers […]
There is clearly growing support for bailing out the steel industry. Why, commentators ask, bail out the banks but not other major industries that are strategically important. The steel industry is certainly important. Ask anyone facing redundancy […]
Corporate welfare should be viewed in-the-round One of the criticisms made of The British Corporate Welfare State was that wage subsidies do not function as corporate welfare. The evidence on the effects of wage subsidies is, […]
Discussions about corporate tax dodging are picking up pace. The issue is clearly an international one – and according the OECD and EU have both launched initiatives to try to tackle corporate tax avoidance. The […]
EC State Aid probe into UK support for biomass plant 06/01/16 20:49 The European Commission is to investigate whether the UK’s plans to subsidise the conversion of part of a coal power plant to operate […]
BIS Select Committee criticises UK government of failing to protect British steel 22/12/15 02:48 The government is being accused of failing to respond early enough to warnings about a crisis in the steel industry, where […]
Labour launches inquiry into the use of corporate tax reliefs 16/12/15 15:42 Labour have recently launched an inquiry into corporate tax reliefs. Seema Malhotra, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, gave a speech this […]
Households forced to plug holes left by falling corporate taxation according to the OECD 08/12/15 00:37 According to a press release put out by the OECD to launch its latest Revenue Statistics Report: “Corporate tax […]
British steel 12/11/15 07:26 The British steel industry is arguing that corporate welfare provided by China is rigging the market. The UK government has accordingly promised additional support to the industry, although this will take […]
Corporate welfare for the water industry… 12/11/15 07:23 This from the FT reporting on a National Audit Office report into excess profits in the water industry. Overly generous regulations have boosted profits in the water […]
AstraZeneca and its partners awarded £93m in grants 13/10/15 09:51 Today’s Guardian features Aditya Chakrabortty’s piece on tax avoidance and mentions my disclosure that AstraZeneca and its partners extracted over £93m in InnovateUK funding between […]
AstraZeneca accused of employing aggressive tax-avoidance measures in an investigation by the Guardian. The company featured in The British Corporate Welfare State. This is an extract: “Five months after AstraZeneca thanked the local MP [George Osborne] for […]
Jolyon Maugham’s post on his “Musings on Tax” blog discusses (misrepresents would be more accurate) The British Corporate Welfare State: Public Policies for Private Businesses. Kevin Farnsworth’s response is below My report on corporate welfare created quite a storm! […]
Corporate welfare: even £93bn doesn’t capture it! 28/09/15 17:09 In the Guardian’s Comment is Free strand, Kevin Farnsworth writes that the £93bn price tag on corporate welfare has been much misunderstood. We need a full audit of […]
Support to the banks ran at well over one trillion pounds at its peak… 18/09/15 14:55 This is a link to the National Audit Office’s estimates of the costs of support to the banks. It makes […]
Is now really the best time to cut corporation tax? 13/07/15 11:01 Kevin Farnsworth has written an article for the Guardian’s Comment is free strand, on the tensions between corporate and social welfare exposed in this […]
Business groups reject PM’s plan to replace tax credits with higher pay 07/07/15 18:21 Article in the Guardian covering the responses of the Chambers of Commerce and Institute of Directors to David Cameron’s ‘plan’ to replace in-work […]
“Firms paying poor wages are the real benefit cheats” 04/07/15 16:20 Article by Patrick Collinson on low pay and wage subsidies at a number of large retailers, including Next and Tesco’s – http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2015/jul/04/firms-paying-poor-wages-benefit-cheats-tax-credits
In-work tax-credits 01/07/15 16:17 There is a lot of interest at the moment in tax credits and whether they support the low-paid or whether they effectively subsidise wages. A report released by CitizensUK recently looked […]
The real benefit cheats are the employers who are milking the system 26/06/15 14:15 Deborah Hor writes in today’s Guardian: “I really don’t know why the government is making such heavy weather of cutting £12bn […]
On March 23, 2016, the government published the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016-2021 which details in an 115-page report its intentions for supporting large-scale housing and regeneration, and investment in new local schools, hospitals, and […]
Tory government is giving billions in ever increasing handouts to oil and gas majors at the same time as cutting support for clean energy, report reveals Source: UK becomes only G7 country to increase fossil […]
The Government gives the fossil-fuel industry nearly £6bn a year in subsidies, almost twice the financial support it provides to renewable-energy providers, according to new research. A study by the Overseas Development Institute think-tank challenges […]
An interesting piece in the Conversation by Prem Sikka on Facebook’s corporation tax: Facebook looks set to pay more UK tax but it might not be as much as you think. Facebook, along with others […]
Copyright: Corporate Welfare Watch 2017