Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow, that is sketchy. Here's more info on IKEA's tax evasion scheme: https://www.fastcompany.com/3035734/ikea-is-a-nonprofit-and-...
avoidance != evasion
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IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
371–380 of 622 posts
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#372I never understood why people hate IKEA. Yes it's cheap. Yes it doesn't last a lifetime. Yes it needs a lot of wood. Yes it's highly optimized. But guess what, IKEA is a business responding to the needs of people. The negatives that are mentioned frequently are merely a symptom of our ever faster developing society. The people who complain are the same ones that just buy cheap crap from china without even thinking ab…
> I never understood why people hate IKEA. Did you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA#Criticisms ? There seems to be many reasons to dislike the company, even as a happy customer. One thing that stuck with me is this: "The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, which members of the European Parliament have alleged was designed to avoid over €1 billion in tax payments over the 2009–2014 period." It seems e…
If they are using the money saved on taxes to sell their products cheaper, then it is not themselves (only) that they are enriching thereby, but (also) you and I and everyone else who buys IKEA products. The consumers end up being the ones paying less money into governmental coffers.
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#37311,000 acres is about equal to a square property 4 miles on each side. It's a noble gesture, and the best outcome would be to motivate others to do the same.
Makes me wonder how much property could be bought for preservation with a Go Fund Me?
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#374Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure. But it really means IKEA is the biggest single owner of forests, apart from the owner who owns 40 times as much as IKEA does.
Sure, but including state ownership skews the metrics. Is there any country where the government/state isn't the biggest owner of forests? Applying the same idea to the US puts the US government at the top with 31.1% of forests[1] even though 35.5% is collectively owned by families. [1] https://www.nwtf.org/conservation/article/who-owns-forests-w...
I think it is Relevant precisely because skew the metrics When we talk about land-use.If it is left out people can make all kinds of misinformed Conclusions.
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#375Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think IKEA represents plastic consumerism to people. A lot of people feel alienated from the modern world and IKEA registers as fake and therefore alienating. Mass produced, cheap culture with a copy in every house. The best criticisms of these kinds of "problems" are in pop art, as opposed to rational discourse. Fight Club is the canonical example. The film picks IKEA to symbolize the enemy and justification for s…
> Phoebe thinks she has an antique apothecary table. You can smell the history of opium and medicinal brews. Turns out it's IKEA. Off the top of my head, I think it was Pottery Barn, not IKEA.
I can also confirm it was Pottery Barn.
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#376Not disparaging IKEA at all--moves like this should be lauded--but this is a working forest, harvested for lumber. I can't speak to how sustainably it's harvested or anything, and while this is commendable, there is profit motive here, as IKEA is heavily dependent on wood for its products. I think in general, supporting things like working forests from a government level (tax benefits) is probably something that isn'…
It's a good point to raise, as a working forest is quite different to a protected forest. Where I live is surrounded by working forest and regularly a large swathe will be felled, having a big impact on wildlife and taking at least a couple of decades for that land to recover. That's good for carbon sequestration, which is what Ikea wants it for, but not so good for the forest residents.
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#377Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I never understood why people hate IKEA. Did you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA#Criticisms ? There seems to be many reasons to dislike the company, even as a happy customer. One thing that stuck with me is this: "The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, which members of the European Parliament have alleged was designed to avoid over €1 billion in tax payments over the 2009–2014 period." It seems e…
If they are using the money saved on taxes to sell their products cheaper, then it is not themselves (only) that they are enriching thereby, but (also) you and I and everyone else who buys IKEA products. The consumers end up being the ones paying less money into governmental coffers.
It is unfair to competitors who do pay taxes. Besides, it still leaves governments unfunded.
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#378Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I never understood why people hate IKEA. Did you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA#Criticisms ? There seems to be many reasons to dislike the company, even as a happy customer. One thing that stuck with me is this: "The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, which members of the European Parliament have alleged was designed to avoid over €1 billion in tax payments over the 2009–2014 period." It seems e…
If they are using the money saved on taxes to sell their products cheaper, then it is not themselves (only) that they are enriching thereby, but (also) you and I and everyone else who buys IKEA products. The consumers end up being the ones paying less money into governmental coffers.
Not sure where you're from, but round here taxes are used for the infrastructure that private business need to have a market - schools, roads, health care and sometimes even direct investments in private businesses. The two start-ups I've been working for in the past have been helped off the ground by both government and EU money.
If Ikea are using elaborate company structures to pay less tax than other furniture stores, they are stealing from the societies that enable them to thrive. Especially if they are using that advantage to depress prices.
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#379Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I never understood why people hate IKEA. Did you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA#Criticisms ? There seems to be many reasons to dislike the company, even as a happy customer. One thing that stuck with me is this: "The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, which members of the European Parliament have alleged was designed to avoid over €1 billion in tax payments over the 2009–2014 period." It seems e…
I'm not sure how "complies precisely with the tax law as it exists" is a point against anyone. Surely if you believe the state is entitled to levy taxes, then you wish for people to obey the laws they put in place dictating them, do you not? This idea "people should be paying what we want , not what we specifically legislated " is insane to me. If people aren't to comply with the law as written, what should they be d…
There's been an ongoing investigation of IKEA by the EU Commission for the past several years because they believe IKEA is not complying precisely with the tax law as it exists.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-ikea-ab-taxavoidance-e...
https://www.tax-news.com/news/EU_Expands_Investigation_Into_...
Re: IKEA buys 11,000 acres of U.S. forest to keep it from being developed
#380Earlier quoted context omitted.
It did used to last a lifetime though, my parents bought some items in the 1970s which they still use today (stools, shelves and the odd table), it still looks good as well.
They still have hardwood furniture though. No one's forcing anyone to buy the cheap plywood ones.
They definitely have solid wood furniture - I have some of it. But the solid wood furniture pieces I've seen are all pine. Pine is not a hardwood.
Edit: ah, they've got some acacia pieces (dining room pieces, mostly).