Comment Re:Well what do you know (Score 1) 71
The point about the Dutch Sandwich is that an amazing array of companies and artist manage to export their earnings to a tax haven with almost any taxation at all.
Rumours has it that U2's 2011 world tour had a turnover of 750 million dollar and a profit of 150 million dollar, which shipped to Bermuda taxed at 0.25%. Thanks to a special deal with one Gerrit Zalm.
Sales tax eats away at the income of the record shop, the wholesale supplier and the CD factory. But the income of the record company and the (BIG) artist goes almost completely untaxed. Likewise, a big party of your Billy's price is intellectual property licensing ending up in other tax havens.
With regards to Ikea: The Delft store, sized 30.000m^2, shares it next to bottom-place with equal sized stores in Hengelo and Zwolle. Only the store in Amersfoort is smaller, with 29.000m^2. The nine other Dutch stores are larger. The store in Utrecht seems to be the fourth largest in the world.