Dear Starbucks
For the past several years I have been having my daily boost of Starbucks coffee, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. It costs me dearly, easily £120 in a single month.
To get this £120 I have to earn at least £200 and only after the tax man gotten hold of their 25% of my already pretty poor income, I can spend that money on your delicious coffees.
I like Starbucks. It's clean, appears ethical and makes good coffee. So I felt almost ashamed for you when I read in a London newspaper, that despite your billions of UK turnover, you pay next to no tax. Suddenly, your ethical coffee farming makes me think if it is really what it appears to be.
I understand very little about taxation laws and loopholes, but I am on PAYE so there is little I can do to escape tax. I understand that the government prefers to squeeze £1 out of a million people rather than a million £ from a single man. I understand too, that sometimes these loopholes create jobs because they make it easier for companies to conduct business in the UK, thereby creating jobs for the little man who can then pay the taxes you don't want to pay. But I don't think it's ethical for you to evade tax.
Next time I buy my coffee and das long as Nero doesn't produce a proper Caramel Macchiato that will be soon, I too will say when you ask my name, that I am the Taxman.
