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Vodaphone stores shut down across UK in tax dodge protests

alibi | 30.10.2010 11:51

Protests against Vodafone have shut down all three of their stores on Oxford St and stores in Glasgow, Liverpool and York so far today already.......

VODAFONE STORE SHUT DOWN THIS AFTERNOON
VODAFONE STORE SHUT DOWN THIS AFTERNOON


Glasgow store has been blocked since 9am!

Protests still due in Brighton, Oxford, Manchester, Weymouth, Portsmouth and Bristol - plenty time to get down to some of these if you're loca.

More info on protests still to happen here:
 http://ukuncut.wordpress.com/

Live updates:
 http://twitter.com/UKuncut

More info on Vodafone tax avoidance case:
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/22/vodafone-tax-case-leaves-sour-taste
 http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=514832&in_page_id=2
 http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back

alibi

Additions

London Flagship Store at 2pm...

30.10.2010 15:20







These are some pictures (taken on a mobile, hence not great) of the London Oxford Street flagship shop protest I took as I walked past at around 2pm. There were about 20 people there although I assume that larger numbers had been there earlier and may be there later. The demonstrators told me that they had been there since 11.30am and the shop had closed earlier in anticipation of them. They planned to stay there in some form all day long to make sure it stays shut. The demonstrators had a megaphone they were not allowed to use (probably more to do with Westminster Council than the police). The police had also parked their van so that people across the street could not see that there was a protest taking place on the other side.

Rain, shine and cold - well done to everyone who took part in this action :-) Closing three Vodafone shops on a busy shopping Saturday on Oxford Street in the run up to Christmas will no doubt help them to keep their tax bills down next year too, let alone the protests in other parts of the country :-)

To people who are confused about the difference between corporate taxes and income tax, please note there is a huge difference and corporations are "legal" and not "natural" persons like you and I in any case. Loss of money and reputation, as today, is where it really hurts them. They won't be losing their housing or child benefits... and Vodafone aren't the only ones getting away with not paying their taxes. Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

Just a note to the organisers - in future, it might be nice to have a small flyer to hand out to the public - they might read it later and might not be aware ... but a great action anyway. Thanks.

In solidarity, A+

Citizen Journalist


Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

Update:

30.10.2010 12:03

Manchester Piccadily store shut now too.

alibi


The Land ain't ours

30.10.2010 12:37

OK. This is one evaded tax bill featured in Private Eye, but it would be naive to think this is not systemic nor to think that it is not the daily practice of the Square mile, Canary wharf , and Mayfair crowds to avoid trillions of pounds of tax. Nor to pretend that tax is somehow not theft ( like stamp duty and VAT and various other fines and levies dealt out by the state and their thieving PFI/ IMF/Party Political mates ). Particularly insidious really when most of us are dispossessed and land / property prices are fixed by the same scumbags. i.e none of those properties should be worth millions including the social housing ( sic ). Rent and mortgage bondage is abigger part of your problem than so-called 'cuts'. Should you not be protesting outside scumbags such as Price Waterhouse Coopers, KPMG, Accenture and Deloitte who make their money out of wrecking and failing banks then advising them and the governemnt on banking, tax avoidancy, flogging public (sic) wealth (PFI/PPP),and construction and property speculation firms not to mention HMRC ( who do enough dodgy deals of their own including flogging off 'public' assets to offshore accountable firms. ( have to define what public assets are and who benefits and controls them - it ain't the public ). We are all prisoners.

Homes for People not Profit


Fuss about nothing

30.10.2010 13:05

The government, elected by the people, has no problem with Vodafone's tax affairs.

Do any of the protestors pay more tax pay money to the government than it asks of them?

No.

So why do they expect Vodafone to do this?

By the way, be careful when using the Guardian as a source of impartial news and comment about tax affiars. Guardian Media Group is famous for hypocrisy in this matter. It critices the behaviour of other firms while being very careful to minimise its own tax bill by the usual corporate methods. A couple of years ago it paid £800,000 tax on profits of £300,000,000. That's a tax rate of about 0.3%.



 http://order-order.com/2009/02/02/guardians-tax-hypocrisy-is-ridiculous/

Pete


Further update

30.10.2010 13:16

Stores have now been shut in London (4), Brighton (2), Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, York and Hastings.

alibi


just sit back in yer armchair then..

30.10.2010 13:33

jees.. what a hotbed of support for protest indymedia becomes... just because vodafone has been targetted doesn't mean that the message behind such protests isn't making it perfectly clear that vodafone are not the only one and that tax evasion / avoidance is commonplace amongst the richest - in fact THAT'S QUITE CLEARLY THE WHOLE POINT... the protests are asking the question, "why are the poorest suffering cuts while the richest are getting away with minimal tax contributions" - but that doesn't fit on a banner quite as well as "Vodafone tax bill £6bn, Welfare cuts £7bn".

The rest of your post makes lots of sense, but still, I can't see it being half as public/media friendly to go to a KPMG office in the middle of some godawful business park, than to go to Vodafone.

And yes, clearly we need to move to a place where there is no such thing as ownership, and all the financial bollocks that goes on is changed, but can you identify a way of easily communicating that to the public. and how do you you propose we shift from a social cuts agenda to one of radical (r)evolution without focussing on the odd bad guy or defending the odd safety net that's currently organised by the state. C'mon! What happened to mutual aid and cooperation - what happened to Solidarity.

Oh yeah, I forgot, probably some troll from the Met...

(your point about the Guardian Media Group stands though...)

PeterPannier


london indy report - 15 stores shut

30.10.2010 14:24

15 Vodafone Stores Shut in Anti-Cuts Action
 http://london.indymedia.org/articles/5834

fyi


good stuff!

30.10.2010 16:03

Considering what a bunch of retards British activists are this is pretty good stuff. I'm truly impressed.

See what happens when you connect with the public and address their real interests?

anon