Them & Us

Them and us fishes, photo Suzanne Beishon (Click to enlarge)

Chocs away

Multinational food giant Mondelez dodged nearly Ł36 million in UK tax last year.

The US-based corporation made pre-tax profits of Ł117.3 million. But interest payments and a tax-exempt sale meant it paid zero corporation tax.

Mondelez - then part of Kraft Foods - bought UK chocolate firm Cadbury in 2010. Boss Irene Rosenfeld had promised not to close the Somerdale factory near Bristol.

>She did close it. 400 workers lost their jobs.

Cadbury UK also paid no corporation tax on profits of Ł96.5 million. Rosenfeld 'earned' Ł13.1 million.

You can't control what you don't own. The Socialist says: nationalise the food giants to stop tax dodging and safeguard jobs and quality.

Water rip-off!

The richest man in Hong Kong, billionaire Li Ka-shing, has made Ł140 million from his stakes in UK water companies.

Southern Water started paying dividends again for the first time in five years, including Ł82 million for Li. This was in spite of receiving an average of twice the complaints of other water firms.

And Northumbrian Water paid CKI, Li's holding company, Ł58 million. Tax breaks meant it paid no corporation tax on its Ł131 million profits.

Water regulator Ofwat announced a restriction on water bill hikes in 2014. However, this was not enough to outpace inflation. The average annual water bill was set to break the Ł400 barrier in 2015.

Before the Tories privatised utilities in 1989, the average bill was Ł236. Public ownership under democratic worker's control and management could sort that out.

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.

Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.

We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to click here to donate to our Fighting Fund.