Astrazeneca settles £505 million tax row
Anglo Swedish pharmaceutical group Astrazeneca has today settled a long-running dispute with the UK tax authorities regarding so-called "transfer pricing". This is the process by which companies are able to transfer intangible assets such as patents to lower tax countries thereby reducing their tax liabilities. This issue goes back 15 years from 1996 to 2010 and will draw a line under the situation and allow Astrazeneca to look forward. However, the company will make a payment of £505 million to the UK government to settle the dispute.
There is no doubt that the UK authorities are now clamping down on various tax issues which in the past may well have gone unnoticed and received little or no attention. It is surprising the amount of money which the government has brought in from additional tax lines over the last few months and it does make you wonder why it has taken so long for them to address certain situations?
The tax regime in the UK is one of the most complicated in the world and recent changes have upset many consumers and many business people. Indeed, a number of prominent business people have already suggested they will look overseas if the authorities continue to increase the overall tax liabilities of UK citizens and UK businesses.
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