LONDON (Alliance News) - High street retailer Next PLC has been hit with a GBP22.4 million tax bill after a court found the company had diverted profits made in the UK offshore in order to avoid paying tax, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The court ruled Next diverted profits made in the UK to foreign subsidiaries in order to claim tax relief on overseas profits, using a so-called "rate-booster" scheme.
Some companies were able to exploit rules designed to prevent the double taxation of companies by using artificial arrangements described by HM Revenue & Customs as "complex circular movements of money between companies in the same group, so they can claim there has been double taxation."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32798693
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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