The Guardian reported (4 October 2015) that British pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca had paid ‘no UK corporation tax over two years despite global profits of £3bn’ thanks to the multinational’s use of a tax avoidance scheme that $2.7bn (£1.8bn) of internal group loans routed through its Netherlands subsidiaries, generating a tax deduction in both the Netherlands and the UK for the same interest payment. AstraZeneca defended its use of the scheme as legal and approved by both HMRC and the Dutch tax office, adding that it would wind up the Dutch structure ahead of the OECD’s tightening of international tax rules.
The company told the newspaper that: ‘The use of this UK government-sponsored regime for tax planning purposes did not produce any tax savings for AstraZeneca. In 2013 and 2014, the AstraZeneca UK group of companies was not profitable due to patent expirations and continued investment in the research and development of new medicines.’
The Guardian reported (4 October 2015) that British pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca had paid ‘no UK corporation tax over two years despite global profits of £3bn’ thanks to the multinational’s use of a tax avoidance scheme that $2.7bn (£1.8bn) of internal group loans routed through its Netherlands subsidiaries, generating a tax deduction in both the Netherlands and the UK for the same interest payment. AstraZeneca defended its use of the scheme as legal and approved by both HMRC and the Dutch tax office, adding that it would wind up the Dutch structure ahead of the OECD’s tightening of international tax rules.
The company told the newspaper that: ‘The use of this UK government-sponsored regime for tax planning purposes did not produce any tax savings for AstraZeneca. In 2013 and 2014, the AstraZeneca UK group of companies was not profitable due to patent expirations and continued investment in the research and development of new medicines.’
