Is McDonald’s New Zealand a tax cheat?

The New Zealand union Unite, which has been energetically organizing fast food workers, has weighed in on allegations of tax avoidance by McDonald’s. By paying exorbitant trademark fees for the intellectual property of making a hamburger McDonald’s is transferring income generated in New Zealand to the US parent while avoiding taxes in New Zealand.

This is not the first time McDonald’s has been accused of cooking the books to avoid taxes.

In the UK the company claims not to have made a profit for the last 10 years! McDo’s European headquarters moved to Switzerland’s “business friendly environment” in 2009, as have many other companies (click here for some recent examples).

Unite’s National Director Mike Tree says “If it is legal it should be outlawed. If it’s not legal they should be prosecuted”.

Read the whole article here

Unite has been actively organizing McDonald’s workers and other fast foor workers in New Zealand; read more here