McDonald's allegedly stole over 70 million euros from the Italian tax authorities between 2009 and 2013. This is claimed by Codacons, Cittadinanzattiva and Movimento Difesa del Cittadino, who presented a complaint to the Italian institutions and the European Commission asking them to investigate possible tax avoidance in advantage of a group company with its head office in Luxembourg and a secondary office in Switzerland.
In particular, the value of the avoidance would be “estimated at around 74,7 million euros – reads the press release from the associations -. In addition to paying the amount due, the multinational would receive a fine of between 100 and 200% of the assessed tax: therefore the multinational could have to pay up to 224 million euros into the state coffers", explain Codacons, Cittadinanzattiva and Mdc, specifying which could also constitute criminal tax offenses envisaged by Legislative Decree no. 74 of 2000 which would initiate a criminal investigation.
“Following a reorganization of the group carried out in 2009 – continues the press release -, McDonald's has developed a system for the transfer of royalties generated by its European restaurants (for the exploitation of rights relating to the brand) to a group company with offices in Luxembourg and Switzerland. A decision aimed at benefiting from the highly advantageous income tax regimes deriving from the exploitation of so-called "intangible assets", such as intellectual property. It is a tax strategy already under the scrutiny of the special TAXE Commission of the European Parliament (established to combat unfair tax practices) and of the European Commission for violation of the rules on competition in the single EU market”.
The associations also specify that McDonald's has approximately 510 restaurants and 17.500 employees in Italy, which in 2013 produced a turnover of approximately one billion euros. "Sales of Italian restaurants have increased by more than 90% in the last 10 years, making the Italian market the fourth most profitable market in Europe and making the McDonald's group one of the most steadily growing chains in Italy", reads the press release.
The denunciation independently takes its cue from the "Unhappy Meal" report, published last February by a coalition of American and European trade unions, which reveals some details of the strategy adopted by the fast food multinational to evade taxes. On the subject, the EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager is evaluating the launch of an investigation into an evasion estimated at over 1 billion euros. In France, however, the investigation is already underway.
