Tax avoidance: the 21st century employment conundrum
| Pages | 234-236 |
| Published date | 09 November 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-09-2015-0075 |
| Date | 09 November 2015 |
| Author | Barry Moseley |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Tax avoidance: the 21st century
employment conundrum
Barry Moseley
Barry Moseley is
Managing Director at
Matrix SCM, Milton
Keynes, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of being aware of current tax
regulations for both the public and private sector.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper uses some of the recent news around large corporations
and their tax systems to support the argument for more awareness of tax avoidance. Whilst using the
recent UK regulations into reporting of non PAYE workers as a case study.
Findings –More needs to be done to ensure businesses are aware and comply to the regulations
around non-PAYE employees.
Originality/value –Entirely original content, citing examples from government regulation and private
companies experience.
Keywords Ethics, Employee engagement, Leadership, Recruitment, Knowledge,
Talent management
Paper type Viewpoint
Uber is one of the fastest growing companies in the world, causing protests in Paris,
ennui in the EU and jail time in Japan. But that is not the least of the controversy it
is causing. In San Francisco, serious questions are being asked about the
company’s tax affairs[1].
This is down to its policy of classing its drivers as self-employed contractors, and it is not
just in San Francisco that there are questions over the reliability of this status – in the UK,
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, (HMRC) have queried whether Uber drivers are truly
self-employed. Whilst the Australian Government has been forcing Uber drivers to pay
General Sales Tax from 1st August[2].
Why is this an issue?
The use of self-employed status can be used by businesses and employees as a means of
dodging tax. Those registered as self-employed pay a lower rate of tax reserved for
corporations whilst their employers avoid paying their tax contributions – and in the USA,
they avoid paying other expected contributions such as health insurance.
Tax evasion by large corporations has been a public irritant for the past few years. The hard
pressed public struggling out of the recession, see big multi-nationals paying far less in tax
than they are themselves. While such an approach may not be illegal and many
multi-nationals would argue that they are in fact doing the right thing by maximising
shareholder profits, it is nevertheless viewed by the public and their customers as morally
wrong and wholly unfair. In response to public outcry and the attempted boycotts of the
likes of Starbucks[3] and Amazon[4], the UK government has felt the need to make a stand.
PAGE 234 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 14 NO. 6 2015, pp. 234-236, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-09-2015-0075
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