Starbucks in new tax avoidance row

The US coffee giant has been accused of tax avoidance by the European Commission
The US coffee giant has been accused of tax avoidance by the European Commission
MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

Starbucks funnelled tens of millions of dollars in royalty payments from Amsterdam to an obscure British shell company. The US coffee giant, which has been accused of tax avoidance by the European Commission, subsequently dissolved the company, Alki LP.

European regulators have homed in on Alki, which held all of Starbucks’ intellectual property rights for Europe, the Middle East and Asia despite having no employees and paying no Dutch corporation tax.

Investigators are questioning royalty payments made to Alki, claiming they do “not reflect the value of the intellectual property”.

Alki, which was dissolved in December, registered its address in London at the UK office of the coffee company’s law firm, according to The Wall Street Journal. The structure allegedly helped Starbucks legally reduce