Venezuela shuts down McDonald's

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Venezuela's government has shut all branches of restaurant chain McDonald's for 48 hours, citing tax irregularities, officials have said.

The head of the country's tax agency, Jose David Cabello, said the chain had inconsistencies in its accounts.

The 115 branches in Venezuela were closed from Thursday to Saturday.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is a fierce US critic and last month was at the heart of tit-for-tat US-Latin American diplomatic expulsions.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7663951.stm

[slackmaster]

1. Free the Hamburglar!

[WriteDown]

3. Awesome n/t

[Renew Deal]

7. lol

:rofl:

[Dr.Phool]

16. Breaking.....Chavez has Big Mac Attack!!

[tom_paine]

19. Nominate that man for a DUzy!

:rofl:

[FVZA_Colonel]

26. When asked for comment, Chavez said

"Robble, robble."

[Bryn]

34. Oh, you're on Roll Today!

:rofl: cracked me up when I first saw it. The first post, perfect! Happy Halloween!

[ohio2007]

46. Mayor Mc Cheese isn't passing on "his cut" of the hot apple pie

[Billy Burnett]

2. Read my lips

[WriteDown]

4. Watch for McHugo's to open....

on a corner near you.

[dipsydoodle]

6. I think Macs are franchises.

McHugo's would be state owned.

[Arctic Dave]

5. In related news Venezuelans health goes up.

[devilgrrl]

10. Hugo Chavez wants his people healthy so he can eat them!!! He's one sick bastard!

:sarcasm:

[MilesColtrane]

8. About to be changed to the Red Arches?

[Leftist Agitator]

9. Whither Mayor McCheese?

:shrug:

[NinetySix]

11. >grimace<

[ronnie624]

13. Read the article.

"The head of the country's tax agency, Jose David Cabello, said the chain had inconsistencies in its accounts."

Surely it's no surprise that a big corporation would attempt to escape paying taxes. They've been doing it there and here for a long time. But Chavez wears a red shirt from time to time, therefore the Venezuelan government's attempts to prevent it is suspect and somehow akin to communism - or something like that.

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-carl-levin/the-100-billion-lineup_b_94523.html>

<http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/03/06/top_iraq_contractor_skirts_us_taxes_offshore/>

<http://www.taxjustice-usa.org/>

[UK populist]

12. Now thats the way to deal with Tax Evasion

Go Hugo

[Robbien]

15. I wonder if MickeyD's is pulling that same shit here, and elsewhere in the world

In our corporate friendly environment they are getting away with it. In a country such as Venezuela who watches out for the public interest, MickeyD isn't getting away with their standard practice of avoiding taxes.

[pointblank]

14. It wasn't tax evasion

It was because McDonalds stopped its Hugo campaign and he took it personally.

[UK populist]

18. I imagine it was more to do with the $300M Venezuela

had in Lehman brothers not being refunded in the way that everyone else was. This probably happened on that Sunday special trading session held for Lehman Brothers shareholders in which only the big investment banks were invited. On the monday Lehman's was dead and so was $300M of Venezuelans money along with up to $10B which was siphoned from Lehman's UK which is currently being sued for by British Regulators.

[Doctor Cynic]

36. Don't be stupid.

They didn't let Lehman go under just because Venezuela invested in it.

Millions of Venezuelan money was also parked at Bear Stearns and AIG.

[judasdisney]

43. That ISN'T what he said.

"UK Populist" didn't write "they let Lehman go under just because Venezuela invested in it".

Are you misreading the comment, or are you misleading?

[Judi Lynn]

21. Do you have a link to that information? Please share it with readers. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

24. I think that was a vague, but unfortunate ,attempt

at what is sometimes known as frivolity. :hi:

[pointblank]

27. It was an attempt at humor

I guess you have to be familiar with past McDonalds marketing campaigns to get it.

Don't you remember, Hugo, the lazy dude who likes big sodas from McDs?




LOL

[dipsydoodle]

31. That wasn't used in the UK

so it's lost on me anyway.

[Judi Lynn]

32. OH! Thanks for posting the other image.

That campaign slid right me, never even knew it happened.



One Hugo to go!

[Judi Lynn]

28. I see. I didn't look at the poster's image. The humor eludes me, actually. n/t

[judasdisney]

44. McDonald's "Hugo" campaign looks like old-fashioned CIA Keyword Hijacking to me

[Endangered Specie]

17. Must be an inside deal with Wendy's

:P

[Regret My New Name]

20. She does have red hair...

[Judi Lynn]

22. Venezuela closes 100-plus McDonald's for 2 days

updated 2 hours, 48 minutes ago
Venezuela closes 100-plus McDonald's for 2 days

(CNN) -- The Venezuelan government's tax body has closed more than 100 McDonald's restaurants in the South American country for two days because of alleged inconsistencies in the fast-food chain's financial books.

~snip~
Jose David Cabello Rondon, the superintendent of the tax body, released a statement saying that the alleged irregularities were found in the company's purchasing and sale records and were related to taxes.

~snip~
McDonald's restaurants in several locations remain open, Alimentos Arcos Dorados said.

Those locations include Anaco, Ciudad Ojeda, La Victoria, Maracaibo Delicias Norte, Maracaibo Galerias, Maracaibo Sambil, Margarita Sambil, San Cristobal Sambil, San Juan de los Morros and Valera, it said.

More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/10/10/venezuela.mcdonalds/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[WriteDown]

23. This looks like a money grab.....

Seize the assets of a profitable business to add to the coffers. Makes sense with the cliff dive that the price of oil is experiencing.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Where did you see Venezuela is seizing McDonald's assets? Please provide a link. n/t

[WriteDown]

30. Its an old racket....

you prevent a business down for a few days or weeks and remind them how much money they are losing by not being able to do business. They then pay you a "fine/fee" to enable them to reopen. Used by the mafia for over a century. Just what it looks like.

[ronnie624]

39. He's making up his own facts yet again.

:shrug:

[LanternWaste]

52. Seems to happen a lot these days...

Lots of dogmatic posters who interpret their own opinion as absolute fact. Well, either that or they're simply tossing spam at the wall to see what sticks. Either way it's quite disingenuous, and appears to be nothing more than self-validation.

[Judi Lynn]

53. They just don't want any information out there which challenges the view that the American

right-wing should control EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in the entire world, no matter what the people of any of the countries want, or need. All the world belongs to American power-mad, racist, fascist interests, and anyone who challenges it, from deep within the depths of his own country is simply America's enemy, according to these fools. Downright un-American of them to want their own leaders, their own way of life.

[WriteDown]

58. I am not sure the mafia was either wing...

Where are you posting from Judi Lynn? Caracas? How is the Spanish coming?

[WriteDown]

57. Uh....

Sounds like you may have some difficulty with reading comprehension. I was just citing what it looked like to me. It will be interesting to see how St. Hugo copes now that oil prices have fallen.

[Judi Lynn]

33. They seem to be doing o.k.: "Venezuelan international reserves up USD 39.3 billion"

Venezuelan international reserves up USD 39.3 billion
CARACAS, Friday October 10, 2008 | Update 2'

Economy The international reserves of Venezuela totaled USD 39.354 billion on Wednesday October 8, 2008, showing an increase of USD 168 million, equivalent to 0.42 percent compared to Wednesday October 1, when the reserves stood at USD 39.186 billion, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) reported.

Of the total, USD 38.527 billion are at the BCV whereas USD 827 million are deposited in the Macroeconomic Stabilization Fund (FEM), created in 1998 with the goal of avoiding that the fluctuation of the Venezuelan oil revenues affect the fiscal, monetary and exchange rate balances.

The FEM is fed by the difference between the price of the Venezuelan oil basket and the projection of oil prices established by the National Assembly when preparing the national budget. The FEM was formerly called Investment Fund for Macroeconomic Stabilization.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2008/10/10/en_eco_esp_venezuelan-internati_10A2062327.shtml
Opposition newspaper

[Joe Chi Minh]

35. Don't spoil his daft wee fantasy, Judy. They've got enough problems at home!

[bitchkitty]

54. I don't think it's a fantasy

I think that some people just spread lies - either because it's their job or for some sick reason of their own.

Some of the Chavez attacks on this board read like they're written by team McCain/Palin.

[Judi Lynn]

56. These guys don't appear to take the time to refer to the actual posted material before firing!

That attempt he made to compare Venezuela's insistance McDonald's adhere to their tax system to Mafia shake-downs bears no resemblance to the facts whatsoever.

Those posts they pull outta their hidden (I hope) places are so wild, so disconnected, so unintelligent it's impossible to know what to say to attempt to respond to them. Simply bewildering.

[Solon]

38. and the idiotic exaggerations continue...

why can't Chavez opponents be reasonable for once?

[judasdisney]

45. You're right on. Chavez opponents remind me of a certain Neocon pack

and those of us who've seen "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" see the implications for the Chavez-bashing New York Times.

[Judi Lynn]

25. Venezuela tax agency closes McDonald's temporarily

Venezuela tax agency closes McDonald's temporarily
By IAN JAMES – 1 hour ago

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan government has ordered nearly all McDonald's restaurants in the country closed for 48 hours for what it calls irregularities in the fast-food chain's financial books.

The tax agency said it ordered more than 100 McDonald's restaurants temporarily shut on Thursday. Agency head Jose David Cabello announced on state television that "inconsistencies" were found in sales and purchases books, as well as in taxes collected. The restaurants will be allowed to reopen on Saturday.

Of the 132 McDonald's restaurants in Venezuela, 118 were closed, including all 80 of the outlets run by Caracas-based franchisee Alimentos Arcos Dorados de Venezuela CA, spokesman Rolando Chavez told The Associated Press on Friday.

~snip~
But analyst Pedro Palma of the Venezuelan economic consulting firm MetroEconomica said the closing of the Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's shouldn't be interpreted as an attempt to pick on U.S. companies.

"They've closed many Venezuelan businesses also," Palma said, noting that tax inspectors often take such measures for even minuscule record-keeping lapses.

More:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hSF9xUq8kUJm63gQmb_0342FC2bwD93NOR9O0

[ronnie624]

40. Money grab indeed.

"Three businesses that operate McDonald's restaurants were fined some US$535 each, tax agency chief Cabello said, according to the state-run Bolivarian News Agency."

:eyes:

[Judi Lynn]

41. Amazing, isn't it? I hope they won't spend it all in one place. Thanks for making the point. n/t

[roody]

37. The DU meetup in Venezuela has been moved from

McDonalds. Please suggest a new meeting place. How about late December, early January?

[Judi Lynn]

42. Could meet at the U.S. embassy. Probably a lot of USAID and NED people coming and going

who might be glad for the company, especially since the U.S. ambassador, Patrick Duddy, has gone north as per their suggestion.

[roody]

49. We'll be sure to go by and protest a bit.

[robcon]

47. Chavez will manipulate the law to his own ends - even for McDonald's.

He started in his first year in office, when he packed the Supreme Court extra-constitutionally with his cronies.

He's some piece of work.

[roody]

48. McDonalds will manipulate the law to its own ends -

even in Venezuela. Who will be meeting me at the meetup? It will be my first time in S. America.

[EFerrari]

51. Only you could takes sides with McDonald's over the people of Venezuela

and their tax laws.

:crazy:

[bitchkitty]

55. So are you. n/t

[Joanne98]

50. NATIONALIZE THEM!