Controversial US taxi firm Uber paid no corporation tax in the UK last year despite making £11 million (US$17 million) in revenue, accounts reveal.
The latest accounts for Uber show its UK arm made a total of £866,302 in profit in 2014 – of which 21 per cent should have been liable for tax.
A spokesman for the taxi-hailing service denied it had used any loopholes and insisted it had paid “every penny of tax that is due”.
The annual statement for Uber London Limited shows it had incurred a total tax bill of £22,134. However this was listed as a ‘deferred tax’, which can be rolled over from previous years and into future tax periods, meaning the company technically paid no corporation tax in 2014.
The Uber spokesman added: “With corporation tax, past losses offset current and future profits – as is the case with Uber which made losses in the UK in previous years. This is an accounting principle to encourage investment that dates back to Benjamin Disraeli. It is not a loophole.
“We are a young company – only three years old in the UK – that is investing heavily. We are a significant net contributor to the local economy everywhere we go, creating new opportunities for thousands of professional drivers.
“The lion’s share of every fare stays local, as it remains with the drivers who use Uber. And unlike the cash-in-hand past of this industry, we only take card payments so every fare is traceable and transparent.”
Uber’s tax practises come to light as multinational corporations are under fire for exploiting loopholes to pay less tax. Facebook also came under fire after it was revealed to have paid just £4,327 corporation tax in the UK in 2014.
And one of Amazon’s top bosses has admitted that changes made to the running of the company still won’t guarantee it pays more tax in the UK.
The online giant took action earlier this year to avoid a Government clampdown on multinationals that funnel sales through tax havens.
It means that all purchases by British customers will now be booked here instead of going straight into Amazon’s European headquarters in Luxembourg.
The move is significant as Britons spent £5.3billion with the cyber superstore last year.
But Christopher North, head of Amazon UK, revealed it didn’t mean it would suddenly pay more corporation tax – because profits could be offset by the cost of expanding.