Cadbury: ‘Cadbury, the British confectionery maker that became a cause célèbre for tax justice campaigners after it was acquired by US food group Kraft in 2010, engaged in aggressive tax avoidance schemes before the takeover that were designed to slash its UK tax bill by more than a third. A Financial Times investigation into the tax affairs of the company has uncovered tax avoidance schemes former senior executives admit were “highly aggressive”.
‘[Cadbury devised] schemes to engineer interest charges that could be deducted from its gross profits and reduce UK tax ... A former Cadbury executive familiar with [one of the uncovered schemes] told the FT it was just one of “a lot of things” the group did “to create an interest deduction out of nothing”, adding that certain executives in the company “found that intellectually quite stimulating.” Other schemes eschewed complicated debt and accountancy structures and instead relied on old-fashioned tax havens ... The Cadbury executive told the FT such schemes – designed to get round the UK’s anti-avoidance rules – were commonplace, with a new scheme being devised to solve each fresh problem.’
Financial Times, 20 June 2013
Dolce and Gabbana: ‘Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were given a suspended prison sentence of a year and eight months on Wednesday for what prosecutors claimed was a sophisticated system of evading tax on income of around €1bn (£850m).
‘A court in Milan ruled that the pair had sold their world-famous brands to a Luxembourg-based holding company in 2004 to avoid declaring tax on royalties. They were also slapped with a suspended fine of €500,000 owed to Italy’s national tax agency. The duo, who were not in court for the ruling and made no immediate statement, have always denied any wrongdoing and their lawyers said they would appeal.’
The Guardian, 19 June 2013
Starbucks: ‘Starbucks has made its first corporation tax payment to HMRC since 2008, paying £5m for the first six months of the year despite the business making a loss of £30m in the UK. The coffee shop chain will reveal the amounts in its annual report, saying that it has started the process of paying the £20m over two years it promised in 2012 ... Another £5m in corporation tax will be paid in the second half of the year.’
Cadbury: ‘Cadbury, the British confectionery maker that became a cause célèbre for tax justice campaigners after it was acquired by US food group Kraft in 2010, engaged in aggressive tax avoidance schemes before the takeover that were designed to slash its UK tax bill by more than a third. A Financial Times investigation into the tax affairs of the company has uncovered tax avoidance schemes former senior executives admit were “highly aggressive”.
‘[Cadbury devised] schemes to engineer interest charges that could be deducted from its gross profits and reduce UK tax ... A former Cadbury executive familiar with [one of the uncovered schemes] told the FT it was just one of “a lot of things” the group did “to create an interest deduction out of nothing”, adding that certain executives in the company “found that intellectually quite stimulating.” Other schemes eschewed complicated debt and accountancy structures and instead relied on old-fashioned tax havens ... The Cadbury executive told the FT such schemes – designed to get round the UK’s anti-avoidance rules – were commonplace, with a new scheme being devised to solve each fresh problem.’
Financial Times, 20 June 2013
Dolce and Gabbana: ‘Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were given a suspended prison sentence of a year and eight months on Wednesday for what prosecutors claimed was a sophisticated system of evading tax on income of around €1bn (£850m).
‘A court in Milan ruled that the pair had sold their world-famous brands to a Luxembourg-based holding company in 2004 to avoid declaring tax on royalties. They were also slapped with a suspended fine of €500,000 owed to Italy’s national tax agency. The duo, who were not in court for the ruling and made no immediate statement, have always denied any wrongdoing and their lawyers said they would appeal.’
The Guardian, 19 June 2013
Starbucks: ‘Starbucks has made its first corporation tax payment to HMRC since 2008, paying £5m for the first six months of the year despite the business making a loss of £30m in the UK. The coffee shop chain will reveal the amounts in its annual report, saying that it has started the process of paying the £20m over two years it promised in 2012 ... Another £5m in corporation tax will be paid in the second half of the year.’
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