Nando’s accused of using offshore tax avoidance structure
High street restaurant chain accused of complex, opaque offshore tax structure
High street restaurant chain accused of complex, opaque offshore tax structure
RESTAURANT CHAIN NANDO’S is the latest big-name brand accused of operating a complex offshore tax avoidance scheme.
A £750m trust held in the Channel Islands sits at the top of the structure, which sees the South African chain’s capital flow through Malta, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Panama and the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian reported.
Profits then end up in owner Dick Enthoven’s Taro III trust in Jersey. The trust, not liable for UK tax, contains no less than £750m and possibly much more, the newspaper claimed.
While entirely legal, the structure is opaque significantly reduces the amount of tax the company and the family pay around the world.
Nando’s owners also legally reduce their UK corporate tax bill by making various permissible payments offshore, before then paying UK corporation tax on the remainder of its profits.
Nando’s said in a statement:”We want to set the record straight. Last year we paid over £12m in corporation tax, 23% of the operating profit we made. The year before we paid £10.4m.
“Serving chicken in so many different places does make our parent group’s financial structure complex, but we have always been open and honest about the tax we pay in the UK.
“We provided The Guardian with all of this information and further details on how our company is structured both in the UK and internationally. We are really disappointed with how they have chosen to interpret our success.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
More about:
The numbers you crunch tell a story. Your expertis...
10yEmbracing user-friendly AP systems can turn the tide, streamlining workflows, enhancing compliance, and opening doors to early payment discounts. Read...
View articleOrganisations can enhance their financial operations' efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness by adopting platforms that offer them self-service cust...
View articleIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceDiscover how AP dashboards can transform your business by enhancing efficiency and accuracy in tracking key metrics, as revealed by the latest insight...
View articleAlleviating tax red tape, and stronger investment incentives, are key requests for the chancellor Philip Hammond to consider from the ACCA Read More...
View articleThe EC has been instructed to draft a European Union (EU) directive authorising an EU financial transaction tax, which would apply to ten of the EU’s ...
View articleThe search engine's tax affairs have come under further scrutiny following a dawn raid on its Paris offices Read More...
View articleSource close to firm says it had 'no involvement or control' over where controversial fund was set up Read More...
View articleTelecoms company could attract fresh criticism over huge tax claim Read More...
View articleCourts describe P&O tax scheme as an "elaborate trick" designed to exploit the rules Read More...
View articleSir Martin Sorrell says large corporations will pay tax out of sense of social responsibility and not legal requirements Read More...
View articleOlympus is to pay back about £40m that it owes in back taxes and penalties from its 2008 purchase of British medical equipment maker Gyrus Group Read ...
View article