• Thrillhouse@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    And they don’t pay taxes, apparently. So yeah we’re getting cheap furniture but I do wonder if the net benefit to society would be better if they paid tax.

    • dan@upvote.au
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      6 months ago

      Which type of taxes? Income? Property? Payroll? Something else?

      If I remember correctly, all their designs are owned by a non-profit charity (that they own), and the for-profit business pays royalties to the charity. Charities aren’t taxed as much as businesses, if at all.

      Similarly, parts of Ikea that are in countries with high tax rates funnel their revenue to subsidiaries thay are in countries with low tax rates, as royalty payments, business expenses, etc. to shift the tax burden to the favorable country.

      • Thrillhouse@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Here.

        I should mention this link is from a tax firm almost glorifying the way that ikea has structured themselves. It’s a very charitable reading of the situation.

        Just google IKEA tax, there’s tons of sources on their alleged tax evasion, including it seems claims by the EU that the Netherlands facilitates it.

        I see this as corporate greed pure and simple. There is no reason people should be starving and unhoused while IKEA dodges taxes.

        • dan@upvote.au
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          6 months ago

          I see - this is kinda what I was thinking too. I remember reading about it a while back.

          from a tax firm almost glorifying the way that ikea has structured themselves. It’s a very charitable reading of the situation.

          The thing is that it’s likely that everything Ikea is doing is legal, so tax firms would be taking notes (after all, their goal is to ensure their customers pay as little tax as is legally allowed)