Revenues up, taxes down: Google UK reports its slice of the Chocolate Factory pie
- Reference: 1586264469
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/07/google_uk_figures/
- Source link:
The figures, [1]filed at Companies House yesterday and made available to read today , saw revenues of £1.6bn flood Google's coffers, up from £1.4bn in the previous year, but an increase of more than £200m in "administrative expenses" meant the company's profit before taxation actually fell from £246.3m to £225.8m.
Due to how Google UK's revenues are recognised and reported, there is every chance that ad revenues were actually quite a bit higher; the company only generates revenues through service agreements with other Alphabet group companies (primarily marketing and services support).
Number boffins at [2]Statista estimated that UK ad revenues away from the gaze of HMRC were more like £5.1bn in 2019, up from £4.43bn in 2017. Google's parent company, Alphabet, reported total ad revenues of $135bn for FY2019 in its [3]February financials .
Despite the increase in revenues, there was still a drop in tax paid by the giant to £44.3m from £65.6m for the same period in 2018. Profit for the financial year ended slightly up, at £181.5m versus £180.7m.
The increase in costs can at least partly be attributed to a rising headcount in the company's UK outpost. Google added 781 workers in the period, taking its workforce from 3,658 to 4,439. Google UK also incurred £462m (up from £388m in 2018) of expenses providing research and development services "to a related third party" including its US parent.
Those 4,439 employees are currently made up of 1,723 in marketing, 2,171 in research and development, and 545 in management and administration.
And goodness, those workers are well paid. The total wages, with social security and pension payments, came to £1.04bn up from £829m the previous year. The figures included a share payment bonanza for staff of £441m, almost up £100m from the £342m of 2018.
The search giant also remarked that the UK corporation tax rate, maintained at 19 per cent in the 11 March 2020 budget rather than reduced to 17 per cent from 1 April 2020, would affect its tax calculations. ®
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[1] https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03977902/filing-history
[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/268737/googles-digital-advertising-revenue-in-the-uk/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/04/google_fy2019_results/
[4] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8552/how-to-accelerate-brilliant-digital-experiences-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
Re: "We are in this together..."
Sensible choice of browser (ie: not Chrome) and search engine (no prizes here), plus a decent array of ad and tracker-blockers should see you right.
Of course, if you're browsing on mobile, your either a bit stuffed or completely buggered, dependent on your choice of OS.
And yet another tax fiddle
Amazingly the tax man in the UK is hounding every little one man show and trying to grab tax off him but at the same time big American corporations are allowed to offshore their profits through administrative costs... oh look, income up 200k, costs up 200k.... what a coincidence.
Its balls. Time the UK decided to tax everyone and every company on income, regardless. If google, starbucks and the likes decide to fuck off out of the country then so be it.. just do what Brazil and China do... if you want to sell here you have some form of R&D/Production here in proportion to your sales, you dont do that you dont sell here... period. Even if it means blocking google from the UKs internet (block it, China manages so I am damned sure we can).
I dont want to penalise google, I just want a fair and level playing field. The corner shop, the corner cafe, the little consultant etc etc we ALL have to pay our damned taxes and we ALL get hounded for them.. .why the fuck should the big boys have free reign... it is what kills small business, how the HELL can any of us compete when we pay 25+% of oour income in tax and the big boys pay 0.00000000001%???
Re: why the fuck should the big boys have free reign
Because they're the big boys. They talk to your House of Lords. They discreetly pay for golfing trips and whatnot. They put money in the right hands, and influence the laws in their favor.
In the UK, it is likely done with polite dinners and quiet chats in the club house. In the US it is brazenly done under the guise of "lobbying".
The result is the same. And, if you had a few dozen billion lying around, you wouldn't fail to partake in that merry-go-round either. After all, all the other billionaires are doing it, so if you don't, you lose out.
And nobody likes a loser.
Re: why the fuck should the big boys have free reign
It irks me to see Golf portrayed like that. The vast majority of golfers (probably 95% at least) are 'working Joes' like me. For most golfers it is a hobby no different to any other outdoor hobby. Most golf courses are open to the public and most golfers aren't even members of a club (you only need membership if you want an official handicap or if you play a lot and can save money on visitors fees).
It's not even particularly expensive these days - it costs less than £200 to get the kit and at 95% of courses anyone can play for around £30. There's not many other leisure activities where you can get 4 hours of fun(*) for only £30.
The situation isn't quite the same over in the US of A - they have a lot of exclusive country club style venues - but here in the home of golf it's a sport for anyone with enough time. And from talking on forums even in the USofA it's not particularly exclusive, you're just slightly more limited in the courses you can play or might find overcrowding to be an issue.
(*)Fun isn't always the right term. Cycling has hills, football has mud, golf has bad shots :)
Re: why the fuck should the big boys have free reign
Swimming - £30 equipment costs, £4 per go
Running - £50 equipment costs, £0 per go
Football - £50 equipment costs, £0-£10 per go
Cycling - £100 equipment costs, £0 per go
Frisbee - £10 equipment costs, £0 per go
{Roller,inline,}skate{,board} - £30-100 equipment costs, £0 per go
Rugby - £50-100 equipment costs, £0-10 per go (most clubs will pay your subs if you cannot afford them)
etc
Re: why the fuck should the big boys have free reign
That's just sport though, I specifically wrote 'leisure activities'. Although Golf is a sport it's not particularly physical and I view it more as 'something to do that takes half a day'.
But my main point, really, is that it's not something that only the well-to-do play. It's within reach of almost anyone who has a job. The idea that only captains of industry and politicians play it is old fashioned. And having many years experience I can say that very few people talk about their jobs while they are playing. Quite the opposite - golf is a break from their jobs (and their families) - and they'd rather talk about almost anything else.
Re: And yet another tax fiddle
"Amazingly the tax man in the UK is hounding every little one man show and trying to grab tax off him..."
Of course - take a "big boy" to court over tax and you're in for months - if not years - of legal pissing contest, of appeal and counter appeal as the lawyers from both sides try every loophole under the sun to win their case... with the only real winners being the lawyers and the losers being the taxpayers who have paid the tax man's costs.
Whereas a small fry - well, he's not got the money for an extended legal battle, so he's either gonna roll over or go bankrupt.
It's exactly the same principle as the big boys suing the small fry for infringement of copyrights, patents, trademarks etc.
Re: And yet another tax fiddle
Its not just the corner shop, or the little consultant that gets hammered by the taxman
Its the 1000s of small businesses that employ 10-50 people that are British companies dealing with other British companies, they have no way of avoiding the tax since they are based here and unable to 'offshore' stuff like 'admin expenses' and have to suffer the tax costs while the likes of google et al take the piss out of the system.
Hmm
So more people employed in the UK, awesome. Yes we can complain that Google pays less tax but then thats the green eyed child who wants what others have just because.
Re: Hmm
Because other employers who hire people *also* pay more taxes than Google. Much, much more.
Is that clear for you now?
"We are in this together..."
That's only for us plebs.
For the likes of super slurper Google those rule obviously don't apply do they?
The sooner the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook and the rest are made to stump up the same sort of percentage taxes that use mere mortals pay then all I can say is "Up Yours!"
As I've just been officially declared 'unclean' (for the next 12 weeks) I'll have to work extra hard not to feed their insatible appetites for every last bit of data on our lives. I really don't want Amazon saying 'we think you might like...' (Wheelchairs, Zimmer frames etc) for the next 10+ years.