Europe Eases Corporate Tax Dodge as Worker Burdens Rise
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In early November, members of the U.K. Parliament assailed executives from Google Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. for moving billions of dollars in profits into tax havens.
Less than a month later, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he would lower the U.K.’s corporate tax rate to 21 percent, below Germany and France, from 28 percent in 2010. A month after that, the U.K. cut the rate further, to less than 6 percent, on profit attributed to offshore arms that make loans to other units. These subsidiaries can help U.K.-based multinationals shift income to mailboxes in tax havens.