McDonald's French HQ Raided In Tax Fraud Probe
McDonald's French HQ Raided In Tax Fraud Probe
The restaurant chain is investigated over suspicions it
is avoiding tax by channelling its French earnings to Luxembourg.
16:38, UK, Thursday 26 May 2016
The French headquarters of McDonald's were raided last
week as part of a tax fraud probe, police say.
Financial and tax crime officials searched the company's
premises near Paris on 18 May, seizing documents, a police source said.
The investigation follows suspicions the restaurant chain
has been unlawfully lowering its tax bills by funnelling its earnings in France
to Luxembourg, where its European headquarters are based.
A spokesman for McDonald's confirmed the company was
"co-operating fully with authorities on this matter".
The decision to investigate the company was confirmed
last year by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who has
already found against Fiat Chrysler and Starbucks' tax arrangements in the
Netherlands and Luxembourg.
In both cases the companies were ordered to pay up to
€30m (£22.8m) in backdated taxes.
In December, a spokesperson for McDonald's said:
"From 2010-2014, the McDonald's companies paid more than $2.1bn (€2bn)
just in corporate taxes in the European Union, with an average tax rate of
almost 27%.
"Additionally, we pay social, real estate and other
taxes.
"Our independent franchisees, who own and operate
approximately 75% of our restaurants in Europe, also pay corporate tax and many
other taxes."
In January, McDonald's announced a 5% fall in full-year
profit to $4.5bn (£3.13bn) while revenues were 7% lower at $25.4bn (£17.7bn).
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