War on Want's report on McDonald's tax affairs

That this House is disturbed by the findings of the Secrets and Fries report published on 17 March 2022 by War on Want, which exposes a circular, paper transaction by McDonald’s which it alleges has the primary purpose of reducing McDonald’s tax obligations by creating a UK tax shelter for its global franchise income; notes that report further alleges that mechanism could be depriving the UK exchequer of at least £295 million in public funds over ten years without having any corresponding economic substance; further notes that McDonald's UK business received extensive public subsidies in the wake of the covid-19 lockdowns, not least through the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, whilst continuing to increase its market share in the UK and continuing to pay dividends to its shareholders; notes with regret that after seeing their tax affairs in Luxembourg and Singapore come under scrutiny McDonald's have moved their intangible fixed asset to the City of London to allegedly take advantage of the UK's lax intangible fixed asset regime; therefore calls on the Government to rigorously review its tax breaks mechanisms, including those that interact with the UK’s intangible fixed asset regime, and ensure that the full costs and benefits of all tax rules for all companies, including large multinationals, are properly reported; and further calls on the Government to scrap any tax rules which cannot be justified by their effects on the UK economy, society and the environment.