Brexit and the Consequences

[sminicooper]

Unilever – running rings round all the tax people?

http://order-order.com/

"Unilever has a discreet – though huge – HQ in Schaffhausen, Switzerland (outside of the EU), through which it books purchases and sales to reduce tax liability. If you didn’t already know it was there you would be hard pressed to notice the blue ‘U’ logo on an upper level window…

Guido’s co-conspirators in Switzerland say purchases are made through the Schaffhausen entity and they are fairly certain Unilever’s intellectual property brand assets take advantage of the friendly tax regime. Could it be that Unilever’s companies across the EU pay heavy royalty fees to their Swiss entity, so as much profitability as possible rolls up there and gets taxed at super-low rates. Schaffhausen is well known in Switzerland (like Zug & Geneva) for offering special sweetheart corporate tax deals that are negotiated individually. Unilever’s €urophilia and pro-Remain campaigning does not extend to its profits remaining in high-tax EU states…

UPDATE: A well informed gnome tells Guido:

The point of Unilever running the purchases through Switzerland, means that the Swiss entity then owns the raw materials (and also the finished goods – the legal/finance people will ensure this). Then, the individual Unilever country offices around Europe have to buy these materials from Unilever in Switzerland – at hefty price, no doubt including the royalty/IP charges for the Unilever recipes which will also be owned by Switzerland. This has the effect of moving money to Switzerland from the UK/Germany/wherever else."

 

[Oscar Reed]

Funny one from IG in Melbourne this morning.

Strange goings on

While not necessarily relevant to markets, I stepped off a plane from Dubai this morning only to see much talk about Marmite rationing in the UK and a gorilla breaking out of a zoo…it all sounds like London has stepped back into a post-World War II era. Brexit is seemingly having side effects.

 

[tar]

1.22

 

[Splitlink]

So Theresa May has had a flying meeting with Rajoy! Quick stuff. I bet a lot was said about Scotland. In the press, this morning, Rajoy promised to help May, in that direction, which means a veto for the Scots joining EU if she leaves UK.

Now----that means I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

What's she done?

 

[tomorton]

What's she done?

Gibraltar.

 

[Splitlink]

Gibraltar.

Probably, but I don't think it is that big a deal. I don't think that Gib minds going to Spain as much as the UK may think otherwise. So many people live across the border, in Spain, that I think that they would prefer their position to be clarified.
Every time there is a spat Spain closes the border. The Gibraltarians may shout otherwise, but it hurts.

Still, there may be something there.

 

[Splitlink]

There are some very negative opinions on the UK economy, for anyone interested, to-day, after the 1300 news on BBC4. Probably, around 1315.

 

[Atilla]

There are some very negative opinions on the UK economy, for anyone interested, to-day, after the 1300 news on BBC4. Probably, around 1315.

Brexiters reckon they have a strong hand.

Markets don't see it that way, yet??? Many banks preparing plans to move and clearing moving for certain.


However, UK Spain relations very good. Most expats are in Spain. Favoured retirement destination. Numbers I hear keep going up all the time. Some say 2m + with a large number travelling to and fro.

Similarly, UK has been accommodating to many young Spanish people coming to work in the UK. It is a mutual beneficial exchange.

 

[Splitlink]

Brexiters reckon they have a strong hand.

Markets don't see it that way, yet??? Many banks preparing plans to move and clearing moving for certain.


However, UK Spain relations very good. Most expats are in Spain. Favoured retirement destination. Numbers I hear keep going up all the time. Some say 2m + with a large number travelling to and fro.

Similarly, UK has been accommodating to many young Spanish people coming to work in the UK. It is a mutual beneficial exchange.

The pension and currency exchange is not in their favour. Unfortunate, but that is a fact that they have to face. This happened before, when the UK left the snake, before the Euro, in John Major's time.

 

[sminicooper]

However, UK Spain relations very good. Most expats are in Spain. Favoured retirement destination. Numbers I hear keep going up all the time. Some say 2m + with a large number travelling to and fro.

Similarly, UK has been accommodating to many young Spanish people coming to work in the UK. It is a mutual beneficial exchange.

With sensible Brexit negotiations and bilateral goodwill there is no reason why that situation should not continue. It will only be bloody-mindedness from the Brussels Politburo that would thwart it.

 

[Atilla]

With sensible Brexit negotiations and bilateral goodwill there is no reason why that situation should not continue. It will only be bloody-mindedness from the Brussels Politburo that would thwart it.

Wouldn't have quite put it that way but agree with you.

I think you'll find EU supports free movement of labour and all people :idea:

May have got lost in translation

 

[sminicooper]

Wouldn't have quite put it that way but agree with you.

I think you'll find EU supports free movement of labour and all people :idea:

May have got lost in translation

No reason why Brexit shouldn't also support that with just one principal modification: no freeloaders!

 

[Atilla]

No reason why Brexit shouldn't also support that with just one principal modification: no freeloaders!

Agree again whole heartedly.

In fact the EU benefits are often less favourable than UKs and extra benefits only kick in after few years whilst in the UK they were given out immediately.


I saw custom control officers in action and I was utterly disgusted by how they were treated. That's the custom officers by the way. They were toothless and migrants really were so very offensive.

I would fine employers and landlord whilst sending illegal immigrants back immediately. Do the same with any begging.

Brexit is a poor way of trying to control what we should have been doing long time ago.

Both Labour and Tories promised and did very little whilst migrant numbers grew and grew. What I'm trying to say is much can be done without invoking Brexit.

 

[Signalcalc]

What I'm trying to say is much can be done without invoking Brexit.

No it can't and that's precisely why we are having a Brexit!

 

[samfarrell]

Lets be honest, its going to be a hard Brexit. There is no way migration control can work otherwise. I think the tougher the talk coming from May, the tougher the line will come back from Brussels.

 

[Splitlink]

With sensible Brexit negotiations and bilateral goodwill there is no reason why that situation should not continue. It will only be bloody-mindedness from the Brussels Politburo that would thwart it.

It is the weakness of the currency, causing the problem, not Brussels. British ex-pats rely on GBP strength to maintain their standard of living.

It is blaming everything on Brussels that has made millions of people vote Brexit. Most have no idea that Britain has a terrible trade deficit with the rest of the world. In fact, she imports 20% more than she exports. That means that of everything you earn, in the UK, you pay 5% to pay for the interest on the loan capital.

All explained in 1300 news, BBC4 on Friday, 14th.

 

[Oscar Reed]

It is the weakness of the currency, causing the problem, not Brussels. British ex-pats rely on GBP strength to maintain their standard of living.

It is blaming everything on Brussels that has made millions of people vote Brexit. Most have no idea that Britain has a terrible trade deficit with the rest of the world. In fact, she imports 20% more than she exports. That means that of everything you earn, in the UK, you pay 5% to pay for the interest on the loan capital.

All explained in 1300 news, BBC4 on Friday, 14th.

Hi Sir

Any idea on Spain or the eurozone on imports and exports difference.
I have no idea.

Cheers
Oscar

 

[Splitlink]

Hi Sir

Any idea on Spain or the eurozone on imports and exports difference.
I have no idea.

Cheers
Oscar

I have no idea, either, but it might be worse. I do have an idea that yours is a loaded question.

The point is that it is the UK that will not have the EU behind it. Unilever is bad news. How long will it be before the other manufacturers do the same?

 

[Splitlink]

Hi Sir

Any idea on Spain or the eurozone on imports and exports difference.
I have no idea.

Cheers
Oscar

See if you can get anything out of this. I have not had a good read, yet, but "reduction of 60%" tells us little. What is the difference between imports and exports as a %age? is the real question.

To get back to your point. Spain is much poorer than the UK. To deny that is ridiculous and I am not trying to do that. The point is about the UK.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/spain/balance-of-trade

 

[Oscar Reed]

See if you can get anything out of this. I have not had a good read, yet, but "reduction of 60%" tells us little. What is the difference between imports and exports as a %age? is the real question.

To get back to your point. Spain is much poorer than the UK. To deny that is ridiculous and I am not trying to do that. The point is about the UK.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/spain/balance-of-trade

Always thought Spain would be weaker., my joke

Hopefully some can tell us the Eurozone, because it played a big part of the UK in the last so many years.