How to Talk Tax in The Boardroom: Lessons learned from McDonald’s case study

By: Steef Huibregtse and Marina Menezes.

In this case study boards will be addressing whether:

1. The risks are high on the set up of such franchise structure

2. There is sound operational reason to change the company’s structure

3. How the negative press about the company’s tax structure should be responded to.

4. There are lessons learned from the investigation by the EU Commission.

5. The company should balance tax benefits with responsibility towards stakeholders.

Current state of the proceedings in the McDonalds case:

In the past three years McDonald’s has relocated its international tax base to the UK and transferred the headquarters of McD Europe Franchising Sàrl from Luxembourg to Delaware. Furthermore, it has interposed a range of subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions between the newly named McD Europe Franchising LLC and its holding subsidiaries. In May 2018, a group of seven cross-party MPs from the UK has sponsored an early day motion welcoming publication of the Unhappier Meal report and calling on government to ensure that companies operating in the UK cannot use opaque structures based domestically or overseas to avoid paying in full their proper share of tax.

Download the full case-study:

McDonalds business structure in Luxembourg.pdf

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