Double Serving In Geneva: McDonald’s’ IP Tax Move 16/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)McDonald’s is shifting its European headquarters to Geneva in an apparent attempt to avoid new tax rules in the United Kingdom that would result in double taxation of revenues earned from intellectual property rights, according to a spokeswoman for McDonald’s quoted in the Guardian newspaper this week. The move seeks to benefit from advantageous intellectual property tax laws in Switzerland, it said. Under the new UK tax rules, McDonald’s would be liable to pay taxes on revenues earned from licensing its intellectual property rights to franchisees, even if those revenues had already been taxed abroad. The new head office would be opened in Geneva before the end of the year. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Related "Double Serving In Geneva: McDonald’s’ IP Tax Move" by Intellectual Property Watch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
M Buckley says 10/08/2009 at 2:31 pm I think those of us interested should all watch very closely the EU Swiss interaction as it develops with regards to IP taxes. I believe It will make for examples in this created international trade system regarding future interaction with other states. It begs a question what such interaction on a global scale will have. Will we witness perhaps swaying in and out of the international trade regime of developed nations and their affiliates as needs arise? Hmmm, this would make for a very interesting international trade picture. I myself have some theories that I feel are inevitable in the world trade system as I watch these movements like McDonalds is making. Reply