tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post9150414825739435063..comments2024-03-28T22:42:37.931+10:00Comments on Just Watching the Wheels Go Round: Political Prisoners Forced To Make IKEA FurnitureBrizdaz (Darren)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16218154629850982033noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post-59803469861595637452012-11-18T20:09:54.265+10:002012-11-18T20:09:54.265+10:00My goodness - had no idea of that. As someone or o...My goodness - had no idea of that. As someone or other said, can't remember who: "It's the little people who pay tax".Mike Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02149847109691591945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post-64983371471361916632012-11-18T06:30:02.821+10:002012-11-18T06:30:02.821+10:00His wife died a little while ago,so the article in...His wife died a little while ago,so the article in the above comment was obviously from a few years back.Brizdaz (Darren)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16218154629850982033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post-55023526941068218592012-11-18T06:25:47.864+10:002012-11-18T06:25:47.864+10:00@ Mike
RE:
" The other problem we have in the...@ Mike<br />RE:<br />" The other problem we have in the UK is with tax avoidance by big US companies like Starbucks, Google and Amazon. "<br /><br />Well,then you are going to hate IKEA then -<br /><br />http://www.neatorama.com/2011/04/22/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-ikea/<br /><br />" It Is Technically A Charity. If Nazism wasn’t bad enough, IKEA is also has one of the most elaborate tax evasion schemes of any company that still manages to operate within the law. IKEA is owned by INGKA Holding B.V., a Dutch corporation that is controlled by a non-profit Dutch foundation known as the Stichting Ingka Foundation, which was founded by Kamprad in 1982. This Foundation is headed by a five-person committee that includes Kamprad, his wife, and his attorney. IKEA’s intellectual property is owned by Inter IKEA Systems, which is owned, indirectly, by the Inerogo Foundation, which is also controlled by Kamprad and his family. IKEA has to pay 3% of its profits to the foundation to license its own trademarks. Because IKEA is owned by charities, none of its profits are taxed, making the Ingka Foundation the largest charity in the world, with a net worth of $36 billion. Of course, the charity isn’t nearly as generous as most (being as how it’s mostly just a tax evasion strategy), so it only gave away $65 million in 2010. To put that in perspective, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a net worth of $33 billion and they give away around $1.5 billion per year. The whole scheme is pretty complex, so if you want to read more about it, I recommend checking out this great <br />"Mental Floss" article on the issue -<br /><br />http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/14675<br /><br />"Brizdaz (Darren)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16218154629850982033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post-6479712523521531902012-11-18T03:02:58.820+10:002012-11-18T03:02:58.820+10:00The other problem we have in the UK is with tax av...The other problem we have in the UK is with tax avoidance by big US companies like Starbucks, Google and Amazon. There's a bit of a backlash especially with Starbucks who some are now boycotting. We should, for all sorts of reasons - as you say - be trying to buy local.<br /><br />When we were in Austria on holiday the supermarket gave a 10% discount on any local produce - good thinking. Mike Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02149847109691591945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post-63310690876610698262012-11-17T20:26:23.654+10:002012-11-17T20:26:23.654+10:00RE:
"You mention also perhaps slave labour in...RE:<br />"You mention also perhaps slave labour in India..."<br /><br />Whether it is slave labour or not,it certainly is exploitative labour.Those workers would be working for peanuts and IKEA would be making bucket-loads. <br />But you're right Mike,<br />China,Bangladesh,Indonesia,<br />Taiwan it's where-ever these companies like IKEA can exploit the most people for the least money for the most profit.<br />The only solution to these kind of company's exploitation of workers is to buy local,even if it is a bit dearer. <br />As you say in the end we are just ruining our own economies and destroying the lives of other human beings that are out of our sight.Brizdaz (Darren)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16218154629850982033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837676046760437505.post-27443420754077936632012-11-17T19:50:54.542+10:002012-11-17T19:50:54.542+10:00I don't know much about IKEA, never even been ...I don't know much about IKEA, never even been into one of their stores so, other than a Nazi connection I'd read about somewhere, what you write is all new to me.<br /><br />You mention also perhaps slave labour in India but what concerns me is how workers are treated all over the world. Nearly everything seems to be made in China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Taiwan and so on. So little is actually manufactured (in my case) within the UK. This must cause problems in years to come.Mike Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02149847109691591945noreply@blogger.com