PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
MCDONALD'S AND TAX TRANSPARENCY (15 May 2018)

That this House House welcomes the publication of the Unhappier Meal report by a coalition of European and US trades unions detailing tax avoidance strategies pursued by the global fast food corporation McDonald's, which saw global sales reach $90 billion in 2017 alone; notes that the company's 2015 reorganisation saw the headquarters of McD Europe Franchising Sàrl relocated from Luxembourg to Delaware in the US, a jurisdiction with very limited disclosure requirements; further notes that this reorganisation also interposed a range of subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions between the newly named McD Europe Franchising LLC and its holding subsidiaries with the effect of reducing the level of transparency and information available in McDonald's public filings; is concerned that McDonald's is able to rely on multiple subsidiaries or related companies in countries listed on the EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Hong Kong; and calls on the Government to ensure that companies operating in the UK cannot use opaque structures based domestically or overseas to avoid paying in full their proper share of tax.


Sponsored by:
Ian Mearns (Labour)