Independent bookshops fight back with tax campaign

Posters boasting 'We Pay Our Taxes!' aim to convince consumers to shop locally. 

Beleaguered independent booksellers have found a new way to hit back at retail giant Amazon.

Bright red posters with the words “We Pay Our Taxes!” have started to appear in book shop windows; a clear reference to recent allegations that the online bookseller has diverted hundreds of millions of pounds of profit to tax havens.

The Booksellers Association, who is behind the poster campaign, is keen to highlight the benefits of buying books from independent sellers, in the wake of the public finance committee questioning executives from Amazon, Starbucks and Google over their tax affairs.

Although the Booksellers Association has recognised that Amazon’s tax affairs are not illegal, they have pointed out that the company is being investigated for allegedly failing to pay corporation tax on more than £3.3 billion worth of earnings in the UK.

The Association's chief executive Tim Godfray commented: “Overseas-registered bookselling companies doing a lot of business in the UK, but paying little – or no – tax put our members who do pay taxes at a competitive disadvantage. In view of the public mood and interest we have produced two posters for those of our members that want to use them.”

Other slogans include: “Can pay, do pay! We pay our taxes” and “Your money, your bookshop, your community, we pay our taxes.”

Author Jeanette Winterson has also argued that a back tax on corporations could be used to fund public libraries. Speaking during the inaugural Reading Agency Lecture at the British Library on Monday evening, she said “Libraries cost about a billion a year to run right now. Make it two billion and charge Google, Amazon and Starbucks all that back tax on profit here.”

Amazon’s director of public policy Andrew Cecil failed to answer many of the MPs' questions last week on the company's financial structures, meaning another Amazon executive will appear to answer questions at a later date.

A company spokesman said: “Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within.”

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a)   Amazon is in favour of this “poster” campaign.

b)  The campaign started because booksellers want to pay less taxes.

c)  It has been proved that Amazon doesn’t pay all the taxes.

d) Andrew Cecil hasn’t successfully answered the government’s questions, and he won’t do it.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What was Jeanette Winterson’s suggestion to improve libraries?

b) Why have the posters been produced?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) Refuge, shelter (paragraph 2)

b) Business, duty (paragraph 4)

c) Earnings, interest (paragraph 7)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Although the association has recognised it is not illegal, they think it is unfair for them.

     Despite...

b) They pointed out that the company is being investigated.

     They pointed out: “we....

c)  Public libraries can be improved, but they need that the government creates a new tax for some international corporations.

     If...

           

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Advantages and disadvantages of buying online.