Alliance Boots: ‘Alliance Boots has accumulated a tax credit on £5bn of profit in the past six years, prompting calls by unions and MPs for an overhaul of the tax advantages enjoyed by private equity.
Alliance Boots: ‘Alliance Boots has accumulated a tax credit on £5bn of profit in the past six years, prompting calls by unions and MPs for an overhaul of the tax advantages enjoyed by private equity. [The company has] been able to pay less tax than their listed competitors partly by deducting debt interest payments from their tax bills.
‘Alliance Boots, the pharmacy chain owned by New York private equity investor KKR, has, for example, had accumulated an accounting tax benefit of £132m since 2007, while generating £5.2bn in operating profit in the period, and £109bn in revenues ... [Private equity] groups tend to exploit tax advantages more actively than other companies. Using loans to help finance their acquisitions, they have become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tax deductibility of interest payments – an arrangement available to all companies.
‘A Treasury spokesperson said the government remains committed to interest deductibility, adding: “The current rules are considered by businesses to be a competitive advantage for the UK. This advantage outweighs potential benefits from moving towards a more territorial system for interest.”’
Financial Times, 17 June 2013
Osborne claims UK tax avoidance progress: ‘George Osborne said the UK has already made significant progress in its efforts to tackle global tax avoidance, as he unveiled plans to stop multinationals using “shell” companies to hide their profits. Pledging to set up a new UK ownership register that would make clear who really profited from “shell” organisations, the Chancellor said improving transparency is high on the G8’s agenda. Mr Osborne told the BBC: “I think we have made more progress in the last 24 hours than I think people have made in at least 24 years in this space.”
‘Last week, the UK brokered a deal with crown dependencies and overseas territories – including the Channel Islands and Gibraltar – to reveal which companies are registered or bank their profits in their area. Around one in five so-called offshore tax havens are British dependencies, with Mr Osborne stating the UK must be among the first to “put its house in order”.
‘Speaking of plans for the new “shell” company register, Mr Osborne said: “Companies should know who owns them. Believe it or not a lot of companies do not know who owns them and that's a huge opportunity for tax evasion”.
Alliance Boots: ‘Alliance Boots has accumulated a tax credit on £5bn of profit in the past six years, prompting calls by unions and MPs for an overhaul of the tax advantages enjoyed by private equity.
Alliance Boots: ‘Alliance Boots has accumulated a tax credit on £5bn of profit in the past six years, prompting calls by unions and MPs for an overhaul of the tax advantages enjoyed by private equity. [The company has] been able to pay less tax than their listed competitors partly by deducting debt interest payments from their tax bills.
‘Alliance Boots, the pharmacy chain owned by New York private equity investor KKR, has, for example, had accumulated an accounting tax benefit of £132m since 2007, while generating £5.2bn in operating profit in the period, and £109bn in revenues ... [Private equity] groups tend to exploit tax advantages more actively than other companies. Using loans to help finance their acquisitions, they have become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tax deductibility of interest payments – an arrangement available to all companies.
‘A Treasury spokesperson said the government remains committed to interest deductibility, adding: “The current rules are considered by businesses to be a competitive advantage for the UK. This advantage outweighs potential benefits from moving towards a more territorial system for interest.”’
Financial Times, 17 June 2013
Osborne claims UK tax avoidance progress: ‘George Osborne said the UK has already made significant progress in its efforts to tackle global tax avoidance, as he unveiled plans to stop multinationals using “shell” companies to hide their profits. Pledging to set up a new UK ownership register that would make clear who really profited from “shell” organisations, the Chancellor said improving transparency is high on the G8’s agenda. Mr Osborne told the BBC: “I think we have made more progress in the last 24 hours than I think people have made in at least 24 years in this space.”
‘Last week, the UK brokered a deal with crown dependencies and overseas territories – including the Channel Islands and Gibraltar – to reveal which companies are registered or bank their profits in their area. Around one in five so-called offshore tax havens are British dependencies, with Mr Osborne stating the UK must be among the first to “put its house in order”.
‘Speaking of plans for the new “shell” company register, Mr Osborne said: “Companies should know who owns them. Believe it or not a lot of companies do not know who owns them and that's a huge opportunity for tax evasion”.
