Starbucks UK has come under pressure from MPs after it emerged that the 735-strong chain has paid just £8.6m in taxes on a reported £3bn in UK sales since 1998.
The research by Reuters, found that in the past three years, Starbucks paid no tax on its UK earnings after recording annual losses in company accounts, despite US executives of the Seattle company claiming in telephone calls with investors that the UK business was profitable.
There is no suggestion that Starbucks has broken the law, but its case has aroused interest because its almost zero tax bills contrast starkly with its message to investors regarding its profitability.
The Reuters investigation found that in 2009, Starbucks UK filed a loss of £52m in accounts lodged at Companies House – while its chief financial officer Troy Alstead told investors on a conference call that the UK arm was "profitable".
In 2010, the loss was £14m, but Starbucks reported sales growth, and in the year to September 2011 – when the loss was put at £33m – John Culver, Starbucks' international president, said he was pleased with the UK business.
The findings have led to calls by for an inquiry into the company's tax affairs.
Starbucks said: “We have paid and will continue to pay our fair share of taxes in full compliance with all UK tax laws, as we always have. There has been no suggestion by any authority that we are anything but compliant and good taxpayers.
“We do this in a way that is consistent with the values that have guided us since we were founded more than 40 years ago: balancing our need to operate a profitable business with a social conscience.”
