Britain shows Europe the way to go in wealth creation.

[Blackleaf]

The Times

Britain still outpaces its European rivals.


BRITAIN has topped the European league table for wealth creation, with its leading companies generating more value and doing so more efficiently than their continental rivals, a study shows today.

A report from the Department of Trade and Industry reveals that European value added — defined as the money a business generates when its costs are deducted from its sales — is concentrated in the UK, France and Germany, with Britain in the lead.

Among the 700 major companies across Europe surveyed by the DTI, those based in Britain generated 25.9 per cent of value added, up from 24.2 per cent last year, implying that UK firms are increasingly profitable.

Both France and Germany have seen their share of value added DECLINE in the past year: France’s share fell to 20 per cent from 20.7 per cent, while major firms in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, created just 18.5 per cent of new wealth compared with 19.3 per cent the previous year.

The report contains a value added scoreboard, topped by Shell and BP, which it lists as having generated £31.6 billion and £26.8 billion of new wealth respectively in the past year.

Mike Tubbs, an industrialist who compiled the scoreboard for the DTI, said that it showed that French and German strategies to boost “national champions” in every sector were not as successful as Britain’s more open approach.

He said: “We have got a good sector mix. We tend to have quite a high presence in the sectors which give a higher return on inputs, and a lower presence in the sectors which have lower returns but high investment requirements, such as the automotive, electronics and engineering sectors.”

The top company for wealth efficiency, which created £3.74 of new wealth for every £1 spent, was Mediobanca, Italy’s largest investment bank...

The worst-performing listed company in the survey for wealth creation was Alitalia, the Italian airline, which generated 49p for every £1 spent last year, the report showed.

Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, said: “This is an outstanding performance from UK companies across a wide range of business sectors. Their wealth creation is a firm foundation for continued UK prosperity.”

He said that British competitiveness depended on companies’ ability to create higher levels of value added through innovation.


www.timesonline.co.uk .

 

[Simpleton]

Value added? Hmm, where I come from, they're called margins. The difference between costs and sales is the profit margin.

Gives a whole new perspective on the VAT. Sort of implies that the British are profiting from paying the tax.

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

That's not very nice simpleton. Plus, "Adding value" is the new buzzword in most industries these days, it's all about the Japanese J.I.T way of thinking, of getting a raw product in the first proccess then adding value to it with what you do to it...like making and slicing bread, margins are an olde world concept, and there's a little more to adding value, such as Kanbaan's and strategic planning.

Blackleaf is a little obsessed with the UK, I'll give you that. And actually, the British have it much simpler....simpleton in tax, there's is 17.5%, but then again, it's not passed on to the public with signs like "plus tax" like GST or HST, so for say, 9.99 thats all you will pay, not 10,28 or something similar. So yes, as far as the public go, Britian does have it better.

 

[Simpleton]

Re: RE: Britain shows Europe

That's not very nice simpleton. Plus, "Adding value" is the new buzzword in most industries these days, it's all about the Japanese J.I.T way of thinking, of getting a raw product in the first proccess then adding value to it with what you do to it...like making and slicing bread, margins are an olde world concept, and there's a little more to adding value, such as Kanbaan's and strategic planning.

Blackleaf is a little obsessed with the UK, I'll give you that. And actually, the British have it much simpler....simpleton in tax, there's is 17.5%, but then again, it's not passed on to the public with signs like "plus tax" like GST or HST, so for say, 9.99 thats all you will pay, not 10,28 or something similar. So yes, as far as the public go, Britian does have it better.

The British public has it better in what sense? They're being deceived. You make it sound like the British do it that way to save the public the burden of learning math. They only do it that way, so that the majority of the public is ignorant of how much consumption taxes they are paying.

Besides, many adverts stipulate "VAT Included."

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

Plain and simple english, why write 5.99 when it's going to be 6.13 or something similar, now there is where you are being had.....The price advertised is the price you pay, any other way is deceiving my man, yep thats right, because old people tend to go shopping with a calculator in their bags.

If you wish to subtract the 17.5% and find out how much it costs, fine, but you'd have to pay it anyway, like GST, there's no way of getting around it.

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

it's more fitting than the catsuit worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns!!! (ah man, Halle Berry doesnt have a patch on her as catwoman!!!....note to self "must stop thinking of Michelle Pfeiffer in a catsuit, she's older than my mom" lo)

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

and I respond to that by asking you this:

How is making the customer aware of the price, then stating:

"oh errrrm plus variable taxes which are not always the same so it's not always possible to tell you the price until you get to the cash register"

Any better than just sticking the 17.5% on top at wholesale so the final price after tax is always printed?

ok, perhaps it's expensive in the UK, but it's certainly clearer, it's a system that would be much better, unless you are of the "government controlling us too much" type?

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

tax rates vary in north america from state to state and provence to provence, whereas it's a universal 17.5% in the UK, so where is the twisted logic? 50 states?, 8 or so provences? all having differing taxes, so when you write "plus tax" which rate? because there's loads.

it's just much simpler to have one rate and have it included in advertisement.....it cant be that hard to get a grips with can it?

 

[Kreskin]

CCStaff Note: This topic has been split. Posts that were not contributing to the discussion in a meaningful way have been removed. This is an interesting topic that should/can be debated without insults.

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

where are the insults Kreskin?....simply comparing the 2 differing taxation systems in europe and the americas....so I ask..where are the insults?

 

[Kreskin]

Re: RE: Britain shows Europe

where are the insults Kreskin?....simply comparing the 2 differing taxation systems in europe and the americas....so I ask..where are the insults?

The insults have been removed. Please carry on comparing the tax systems.

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Britain shows Europe

ah Bugger, I wish I'd seen them, if it was personal against me, I certainly would.