Starbucks to move Europe base to London, pay more UK tax

From: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/16/uk-starbucks-unitedkingdom-idUKBREA3F03820140416

 Starbucks Corp said on Wednesday it would move its European headquarters to London from the Netherlands and pay more tax in the UK as a result.

The world's largest coffee chain has endured widespread criticism over low tax contributions in Britain, since Reuters reported in 2012 that the company had told the UK tax authority it was lossmaking while informing investors that the British subsidiary was profitable.

Following the Reuters report, Starbucks was called to testify before a parliamentary hearing about its tax affairs, where it revealed it had agreed a deal with the Dutch tax authorities that allowed it pay "a very low tax rate" there.

"This move will mean we pay more tax in the UK," the company said in a statement, without giving further details.

Starbucks regional president Kris Engskov said London was "the perfect place to grow our European business".