While I’m sure good intentions are at play here on Starbucks’ part, this is a wrong-headed way for the UK authorities – and businesses – to sort out their tax affairs. Starbucks can no more decide how much tax to pay than its customers can decide how much to pay for a cup of coffee. This has to be an issue for policymakers to address, not individual businesses taking tactical decisions to pay additional taxes in order to keep their customers happy.