The tax issues Starbucks is facing with the UK government Essay

The tax issues Starbucks is facing with the UK government - Essay Example Their action of tax evasion stoked public protests whereby demonstrators brandishing ply cards flushing harsh words against Starbucks. Example of one held in a crowd huddled up in one of the entrances of a Starbuck coffee branch read â€Å" 74% of 45 billion pounds benefit cuts taken from women’s income† while another screamed in bold â€Å" Starbucks have not paid tax since 2009 (Mangold, 2010)†. The protesters seething with vent also threatened to switch allegiance to rival companies like Costa. These threats appeared to shake-up Starbuck who feared their customers were starting to decline and this compelled them to appease the population by volunteering to the British taxman 10 million pounds more tax than required by law for the years 2013-14. Since the start of the economic depression that ails most of the western world there has been deliberate action to conjure up ways to hoard up monies to revive the economy. One of ways to expand the exchequer is to invoke strict laws to close down on tax evaders and enact tougher punishments for offence (Gilbert, 2008, p. 67). This has been the main attribute as to the disclosure of how much cooperation tax Starbuck and other large corporate pay and prompting the revenue collectors up to their ante. A scrutiny at a SWOT analysis of Starbucks reveals its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Starbucks Corporation serves restaurants and coffeehouses worldwide with its headquarters in the USA. Its revenue and profits for 2012 were $ 13.29 billion and $ 1.38 billion respectively (Barney, 2009). With its CEO Howard Schultz, Starbucks employs 149,000 employees. Some of its biggest competitors include MacDonald Corp., Costa Coffee, Caribou Coffee Company, Dunkin Brands Group, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters among others. Starbuck is the no. 1 brand coffeehouse chain in the