It would appear that Nando’s are the latest bad boys in respect of tax avoidance which sees the South African chain’s capital flow through Malta, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, the Nederlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Panama and the British Virgin Islands.
The profits ultimately end up in a trust in Jersey and no prizes for guessing whose trust it is……..none other than the owner, Dick Enthoven. It is rumoured that the trust, which of course is not liable for UK tax, contains a minimum of £750m.
There is absolutely nothing illegal in the set up which significantly reduces the amount of tax paid, not only in the UK but also around the world. In the UK Nando’s owners can legally reduce their corporation tax bill by making various allowable payments offshore before paying UK corporation tax on the remaining profits.
In their own defence Nando’s have said that last year they paid over £12m in corporation tax, 23% of the operating profit made. The year before £10.4m was paid. They will undoubtedly be looking forward to 2015 when the rate of corporation tax reduces to 20% across the board.
Apparently serving chicken in so many different places makes the parent group’s structure complex, and Nando’s say that they have always been open and honest about the tax paid in the UK adding, that they are disappointed in how their success has been interpreted in the media.
Although galling the problem lies not with Nando’s, et al, but with HMRC’s inability to close a multitude of loopholes which enable companies to avoid paying UK corporation tax.
Further reading
“Serving chicken in so many different places does make our parent group’s financial structure complex, but we have always been open and honest about the tax we pay in the UK.
“We provided The Guardian with all of this information and further details on how our company is structured both in the UK and internationally. We are really disappointed with how they have chosen to interpret our success.”
Leave a Reply