Reckitt Benckiser: is another multinational company making tax vanish?

A recent Oxfam report presents consumer products company Reckitt Benckiser (RB) as an example of rampant corporate tax avoidance. But RB’s group tax bill is higher than the UK statutory rate. The case highlights challenges both for businesses and tax campaigners. RB says it is committed to ‘paying tax where value is created’; however, reconciling its group ETR against the UK rate is not adequate to back this up. At the same time, Oxfam turns to exaggeration to support its view that tax avoidance by major multinationals is a key factor undermining the prospects for developing countries.