Glaxo issues court threat in bid to settle tax wrangle

Glaxo issues court threat in bid to settle tax wrangle

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is threatening to drag HMRC through the courts to end a 14-year tax wrangle

HMRC building

The FTSE 100 giant has been fighting
HMRC on transfer pricing
issues and controlled foreign companies problems since 1994, but has lost
patience with the taxman and threatened legal action in efforts to force the
taxman’s hand.

GlaxoSmikthKline said:
HMRC has not yet formalised claims in respect of these matters and GSK is
seeking to resolve them in discussions with HMRC.

‘There continues, however, to be a wide difference between the group and HMRC
positions, which may ultimately need to be settled by litigation.’

The warning that court action may be the only way to settle the issues may be
embarrassing for HMRC, which has made great play recently of its attempts to
resolve long-standing tax issues more quickly.

GSK is also taking on the Canadian, US and Japanese tax authorities. The
company said: ‘The integrated nature of the worldwide operation gives rise to
complexity and delay in negotiations with authorities as to the profits on which
individual Group companies are liable to tax.

‘Resolution of such issues is a continuing fact of life for GSK.’

HMRC said that it could not comment on individual cases.

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