McDonald’s to cough up more than €1bn to settle French tax dodging case
Fast food titan McDonald’s is set to cough up more than €1bn to tie up a spat with French authorities over tax dodging.
An agreement between McDonald’s fiscal authorities was given the greenlight in a tribunal in Paris on Thursday.
The US giant will pay back €737m in unpaid taxes and a €508m fine, a spokesperson for France’s public finance directorate-general stated. The bill covers unpaid taxes between 2009 and 2020.
In 2014, it was alleged that McDonald’s had diverted fees paid by its franchise restaurants to arms in other countries, dodging a larger tax bill in France.
In a statement, McDonald’s said the business and its franchisees had “paid corporate income tax of more than €2.2bn in France and created nearly 25,000 new jobs.”
“This agreement ends a tax case and a judicial investigation without acknowledging fault,” the business added.
“McDonald’s France is working proactively with French tax authorities to agree the current and future level of brand and knowhow fees,” it said.
In other news for the fast food operator, the largest McDonald’s franchisee in the UK, Atul Pathak,has sold out to join German Doner Kebab.
Pathak had been operating 43 McDonald’s restaurants and employing more than 3,500 workers.
Now, the businessman plans to help German Doner Kebab to open 78 restaurants during 2022.