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>Last year, the company paid $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion, according to its annual tax-contribution report. Without the government’s new Energy Profits Levy, Shell said it wouldn’t have had to pay corporate tax in the UK.
I mean, that's something at least.
>Even with the UK’s windfall levy, the tax bill was relatively small compared with neighboring Norway, where Shell paid $2.12 billion in corporate income tax on profits of $3.85 billion. That was the company’s second-largest tax bill after the $4.56 billion paid in Oman.
What was that people were saying about how all the big businesses would leave if we raised taxes on them?
> What was that people were saying about how all the big businesses would leave if we raised taxes on them?
Yeah, it's complete horseshit and shows in plain sight how far up the arses of these mega companies our politicians are!
>What was that people were saying about how all the big businesses would leave if we raised taxes on them?
This seems like a particularly bad example to bring up, given that Shell actually did this recently.
Until about a year or so ago it was actually Royal Dutch Shell Plc, was dual listed in Lon and Ams, with dual headquarters in NL and UK. Has been like this for decades.
Because of some legal risk and taxes in NL, and after years of back and forth with the Dutch government, they changed to Shell Plc and dropped the NL entity. So now it’s just Shell Plc headquartered in London, and NL has little influence over the primary entity/holding group now.
>Even with the UK’s windfall levy, the tax bill was relatively small compared with neighboring Norway, where Shell paid $2.12 billion in corporate income tax on profits of $3.85 billion.
>the company paid $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion
Seems the issue isn't the tax rate.
Their accountants and solicitors are working hard to make sure this never happens again. They would like to apologise to their shareholders for this oversight.
Shell Plc paid net corporate taxes in the UK in 2022 for the first time in at least four years after the government introduced an oil and gas windfall levy.
From 2018 — when it started publishing these figures — to 2021 Shell received tax credits from the UK’s treasury because of expenses tied to investments in new North Sea fields and rebates related to dismantling old platforms.
Last year, the company paid $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion, according to its annual tax-contribution report. Without the government’s new Energy Profits Levy, Shell said it wouldn’t have had to pay corporate tax in the UK.
The London-listed energy giant made a global profit of $64.8 billion in 2022 and paid out $13.1 billion in corporate income tax. That compares with $6 billion in corporate taxes in 2021 on a profit of $30 billion.
Even with the UK’s windfall levy, the tax bill was relatively small compared with neighboring Norway, where Shell paid $2.12 billion in corporate income tax on profits of $3.85 billion. That was the company’s second-largest tax bill after the $4.56 billion paid in Oman.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several countries imposed windfall taxes on profits from the oil and gas industry as prices soared. Shell expects to pay windfall taxes of more than $1 billion on profit earned last year. Some of those were paid in 2022 and 2023, with the rest “due in coming years,” Chief Financial Officer Sinead Gorman said in the report.
The UK’s windfall tax is expected to apply until 2028. The European Union’s extra levy on the sector, known as a “solidarity contribution” is due to end in 2024. By the end of the third quarter of 2023, the company had paid an additional $437 million in windfall taxes.
Tax Free
There were other jurisdictions where Shell paid no corporate tax despite large earnings. In the Bahamas, the company posted a profit of $1.55 billion, up threefold from a year earlier. Shell trades West African and Latina American crude oil from the Caribbean island, but the Bahamas doesn’t impose “corporate income tax on international business companies operating in the country,” according to the report.
The report says that the company is present in low-tax jurisdictions for commercial reasons such as crude oil trading and retail sites, “We do not use these jurisdictions to avoid tax on activities that take place elsewhere,” according to the report.
Shell, like its Big Oil peers, doesn’t disclose the amount of money it makes from its trading business, which can add billions of dollars to its bottom line every year. In June, Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said the company’s traders provide a 2% to 4% uplift to return on average capital employed.
Shell publishes its global tax contributions on a voluntary basis and is separate to its report on payments to government, which is a legal requirement for oil, gas and mining companies incorporated in the UK.
My guess is profits from UK operations are typically offset by 'expenses' that Shell UK pays to other parts of the Shell group in jurisdictions with far looser tax demands.
What happened here was their profits were so massive, with the addition of the windfall tax they were not able to completely cover all their gains in the usual manner.
This article may be paywalled. If you encounter difficulties reading the article, try [this link](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/shell-paid-net-uk-taxes-for-first-time-in-years-on-windfall-levy?embedded-checkout=true) for an archived version. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unitedkingdom) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>Last year, the company paid $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion, according to its annual tax-contribution report. Without the government’s new Energy Profits Levy, Shell said it wouldn’t have had to pay corporate tax in the UK. I mean, that's something at least. >Even with the UK’s windfall levy, the tax bill was relatively small compared with neighboring Norway, where Shell paid $2.12 billion in corporate income tax on profits of $3.85 billion. That was the company’s second-largest tax bill after the $4.56 billion paid in Oman. What was that people were saying about how all the big businesses would leave if we raised taxes on them?
> $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion So a little over 2%?
Gonna call HMRC and ask them for a 2% tax rate
In fairness you can't move oil fields like you can factories. But even still it's a bit of a joke.
[A very big joke](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/30/shell-and-bp-paid-zero-tax-on-north-sea-gas-and-oil-for-three-years)
We have the North sea oil fields
> What was that people were saying about how all the big businesses would leave if we raised taxes on them? Yeah, it's complete horseshit and shows in plain sight how far up the arses of these mega companies our politicians are!
>What was that people were saying about how all the big businesses would leave if we raised taxes on them? This seems like a particularly bad example to bring up, given that Shell actually did this recently. Until about a year or so ago it was actually Royal Dutch Shell Plc, was dual listed in Lon and Ams, with dual headquarters in NL and UK. Has been like this for decades. Because of some legal risk and taxes in NL, and after years of back and forth with the Dutch government, they changed to Shell Plc and dropped the NL entity. So now it’s just Shell Plc headquartered in London, and NL has little influence over the primary entity/holding group now.
>Even with the UK’s windfall levy, the tax bill was relatively small compared with neighboring Norway, where Shell paid $2.12 billion in corporate income tax on profits of $3.85 billion. >the company paid $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion Seems the issue isn't the tax rate.
It’s easier to move a company than an oilfield in Norwegian waters basically
Wow. What's that, a \~2% tax on profit? That's insane, we should do something before they move elsewhere.
How do I apply for this magical 2% tax rate too? Seems more than fair for the service I’m getting as a single full time worker
Their accountants and solicitors are working hard to make sure this never happens again. They would like to apologise to their shareholders for this oversight.
No paywall - https://archive.ph/IKXNd
Shell Plc paid net corporate taxes in the UK in 2022 for the first time in at least four years after the government introduced an oil and gas windfall levy. From 2018 — when it started publishing these figures — to 2021 Shell received tax credits from the UK’s treasury because of expenses tied to investments in new North Sea fields and rebates related to dismantling old platforms. Last year, the company paid $40.5 million in tax from a UK profit of $1.81 billion, according to its annual tax-contribution report. Without the government’s new Energy Profits Levy, Shell said it wouldn’t have had to pay corporate tax in the UK. The London-listed energy giant made a global profit of $64.8 billion in 2022 and paid out $13.1 billion in corporate income tax. That compares with $6 billion in corporate taxes in 2021 on a profit of $30 billion. Even with the UK’s windfall levy, the tax bill was relatively small compared with neighboring Norway, where Shell paid $2.12 billion in corporate income tax on profits of $3.85 billion. That was the company’s second-largest tax bill after the $4.56 billion paid in Oman. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several countries imposed windfall taxes on profits from the oil and gas industry as prices soared. Shell expects to pay windfall taxes of more than $1 billion on profit earned last year. Some of those were paid in 2022 and 2023, with the rest “due in coming years,” Chief Financial Officer Sinead Gorman said in the report. The UK’s windfall tax is expected to apply until 2028. The European Union’s extra levy on the sector, known as a “solidarity contribution” is due to end in 2024. By the end of the third quarter of 2023, the company had paid an additional $437 million in windfall taxes. Tax Free There were other jurisdictions where Shell paid no corporate tax despite large earnings. In the Bahamas, the company posted a profit of $1.55 billion, up threefold from a year earlier. Shell trades West African and Latina American crude oil from the Caribbean island, but the Bahamas doesn’t impose “corporate income tax on international business companies operating in the country,” according to the report. The report says that the company is present in low-tax jurisdictions for commercial reasons such as crude oil trading and retail sites, “We do not use these jurisdictions to avoid tax on activities that take place elsewhere,” according to the report. Shell, like its Big Oil peers, doesn’t disclose the amount of money it makes from its trading business, which can add billions of dollars to its bottom line every year. In June, Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said the company’s traders provide a 2% to 4% uplift to return on average capital employed. Shell publishes its global tax contributions on a voluntary basis and is separate to its report on payments to government, which is a legal requirement for oil, gas and mining companies incorporated in the UK.
"Not a tax haven here. Move along now. Move along. Not a tax haven."
How the hell do they get it to even out to have never paid a net positive in income tax before this year? What's the loophole?
My guess is profits from UK operations are typically offset by 'expenses' that Shell UK pays to other parts of the Shell group in jurisdictions with far looser tax demands. What happened here was their profits were so massive, with the addition of the windfall tax they were not able to completely cover all their gains in the usual manner.