McDonald's, the US fast food giant, is accused by unions and a charity to have escaped around one billion euros in taxes between 2009 and 2013 by passing a portion of its revenue by Luxembourg company. The justification, according to critics, a survey of the European Commission.
The EU executive has already opened an investigation into tax agreements made between multinationals and states, like those between the Fiat manufacturer or specialist e-commerce Amazon in Luxembourg.
The , the federation of service sector SEIU (Service Employees International Union) and the British non-governmental organization fighting against poverty War on Want Wednesday called on the Commission to extend this investigation McDonald's.
EPSU and SEIU claim that the US group practiced tax evasion by requiring restaurants to pay royalties deductible tax of 5% of their sales to a subsidiary based in Luxembourg, which benefited from tax advantages.
Reuters poll on the subject, the European offices McDonald's had no comment for the moment. The group said earlier that he respected the tax regulations of the countries in which it operates.
In 2012, a Reuters survey showed that many restaurant chains such as Burger King, Subway or McDonald's, had reduced their taxes in Europe by charging their restaurants royalties to subsidiaries based in countries to lower taxes, in respect of the use of their brand or their expertise.
Official documents show that Luxembourg McD Europe Franchising, a subsidiary of the American group, has collected more than a billion dollars paid by European franchise in 2013.
The company has paid 1.4% tax on $ 288 million in profits in 2013, a rate well below the official rate of the Luxembourg corporate income tax, set at 29%.
The unions argue that this low rate may result from the use of exemption mechanisms on intellectual property rights, but also to the fact that much of the activity is channeled through a Swiss subsidiary.
REUTERS
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