UnHappyMeal report on McDonald’s tax avoidance strategy: First questions at the EP
Two MEPs from the S&D and GUE/NGL parliamentary groups express their concern about the McDonald’s aggressive tax planning and ask the European commission to present what it is going to be done to investigate the McDonald’s tax avoidance scheme presented in the UnHappyMeal report, co-published last February by EPSU.
MEP Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D) asks “ Is the Commission aware of this research report? Was the Commission already aware of McDonalds' tax evasion? Is the Commission already investigating these practices, does it intend to do so or does the Commission envisage a different approach with a view to tackling tax evasion by companies like McDonald’s?” She adds: “The stu dy shows very clearly where McDonald’s generates its big profits and what revenue fails to accrue to the various European countries because of these rulings.”
Click here to read the question
MEP Miguel Viegas (GUE/NGL and member of the TAXE special Committee) asks “What is the Commission’s assessment of these figures and what action will it take to step up the fight against these iniquitous practices?” He also says: “These latest revelations, which come on top of similar information published courtesy of LuxLeaks, demonstrate the need for more transparency in the publication of financial data by multinational companies.”
Click here to read the question
The UnHappyMeal report, authored by an unusual coalition of EU (EPSU and EFFAT) and US (SEIU) trade unions, organizing both public and private workers including in the fast-food sectors, and campaign groups, outlines in detail the tax avoidance strategy of McDonald’s and its tax impact both throughout Europe and in major markets like France, Italy, Spain and the U.K. The practice essentially consisted of moving the European headquarters from the UK to Switzerland as well as using intra-group royalty payments and channeling them into a tiny Luxembourg based subsidiary with a Swiss branch. Between 2009 and 2013, the Luxembourg-based structure, which employs 13 people, registered a cumulative revenue of €3,7 billion, on which it reported a meager €16 million in tax representing less than 0.5%. EPSU asks the Commission’s DG Competition to open a formal investigation in the case of McDonald’s in light of the EU state aids rules in a similar vein as its ongoing investigations in Apple, Amazone, Fiat-Finance and Starbucks.
