I’m going to have to side with ESS here based on my readings and findings. I looked up some information on the Economist and found that yes, Ikea is listed as a non-profit organization. The Economist further went on to compare how it is the richest foundation in the world, beating out Bill Gates’ foundation by (i believe) about 9 billion dollars. However, despite its apparent wealth, Bill Gates’ foundation has been noted around the world as providing healthcare for needy people. On the other hand, Ikea, and I quote from the Economist.com, “innovation in the field of architectural and interior design.”

BUT: Being a Dutch law student I can tell you that Ikea IS paying taxes. Before you say stuff like the stuff you said, you should probably have tried to learn a bit more about Dutch Tax Law (as Ikea is officialy a Dutch company). The Dutch law says that EVEN charitable organizations should pay taxes when they enter a merket in which they compete with the normal actors. So shouting that they do not pay any taxes is rather ignorant and lacks complete nuance.

Besides even my statement needs nuance, as I understand it, Ikea is divided up in many many different companies all of which are taxed. Proabbaly the holding is not taxed, but the holding WILL have to pay taxes over the income of their shares, and again, even if the holding is a charity, then still they are competitors with normal legal entities and their turnovers WILL be taxed.

Just thought I should mention that.

IKEA IS RUNNING THE SINGLE MOST NEFARIOUS AND INSIDIOUS TAX SCAM IN THE HISTORY OF MODERN ECONOMIES.

IKEA is listed as a non-profit organization with the stated mission (paraphrased) to provide healthy living environments to all people around the world. They do not pay any taxes because of this classification and the owner of IKEA is at times the richest man alive. Sustainability means more than simply awareness of the natural environment, it means to be aware of the consequences of our actions on all aspects of our society. By robbing governments of their rightful taxes, IKEA is picking out of the pot funds that could be invested in new technologies, public schools, etc.

IKEA may be mindful of the environment, but it is not sustainable.

IKEA wants to limit its use of raw materials like wood a…stiff card is sandwiched between thin sheets of wood, called board-on-frame… and solid wood will be phased out.

Let’s think about this for a minute. IKEA are going to phase out real wood, a material that lasts centuries, and replace it with cardboard compound. Whilst this may be recyclable my children aren’t likely to be left it in my will or likely to be buying it from a used furniture dealer in 50 years time. IKEA are the Topshop of the furniture, McFlatpack. Surely it’s better to turn a tree into table form today and use it for a couple of hundred years than produce cardboard and mold it into disposable furniture once per decade. It’s time we saw leadership from IKEA in this area but that may simply too much against their grain.