Online group eBay ‘avoided £50m in tax’

Online giant eBay has reportedly avoided paying nearly
£50 million in corporation tax in the UK through legal accounting schemes.

The auction and shopping group paid just over £1m in UK corporation tax, despite making nearly £800m annual sales in Britain, according to reports.

It is thought that eBay used legal tax-avoidance schemes, which saw it channel payments through Luxembourg and
Switzerland.

The group – the world’s biggest online marketplace – is the latest firm to see its tax payments come under scrutiny after coffee chain Starbucks reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in 14 years of trading in Britain – and nothing in the past three years.

The American coffee firm –valued at £25 billion – is understood to have generated more than £3bn of sales in the UK since 1998, but has paid less than 1 per cent in corporation tax.

Facebook and Google have also been criticised over poor contributions to HMRC

An eBay spokesman said: “eBay Inc in Europe works with tax authorities and complies fully with all applicable tax laws and regimes – including national, EU, and internationally recognised OECD rules.”