The article is about Apple only paying £3.8m tax, the OP is pointing out they're paying Vat, the implication is they're paying much more. In that situation it does make a difference.
If you are looking at it from the perspective of enough tax being paid then it doesn't really matter.
If you are trying to consider whether it is fair then you would dump corporation tax in an instant and start considering capital gains and dividends as normal income.
Corporation tax is trending down, basically because companies can move where its lowest. I'm not sure where the fairness comes in, what's unfair about corporation tax?
Taxing dividends as income seems sensible, capital gains should be distinct. You can make a loss for a start. The income tends to be lumpier, if you sell you business for $100k should you be taxed as earning $100kpa when that's your income from 5 years work?
It's easier for big companies to avoid it giving them an unfair advantage over their smaller competitors.
Also, at least in the UK, it's often used as a way for employees to avoid paying income tax. The tax authorities have been trying to stop this for years with questionable success.
"The tax authorities have been trying to stop this for years with questionable success"
The recent dividend allowance changes have I believe negated the advantages, that's what they're supposed to do at least, you're always going to have problems when the rules are written down, and people can choose when and how they pay themselves in a way that most advantages themselves.
We seem to be on the same page re corporation tax. I wouldn't say its the tax itself that's unfair, just the people 'avoiding' it.
