SABMiller – the world’s second largest brewer sells beer all over Africa and owns well known brands Peroni, Grolsch and Appletiser.
In Ghana, SABMiller, owns the second biggest brewery in the country. It looks like a great business, with turnover steadily increasing year after year. But it has made no profit and paid no income tax in the last 2 years.
Meanwhile, every year the company transfers large sums out of Ghana, into tax havens. These payments have been larger than the company’s profits in Ghana, which is why it paid no income tax.
Tax dodging like this is standard practice for many multinationals and it’s perfectly legal. But when companies exploit international loopholes to minimise their taxes, other people have to pick up the bill.
Tax havens create a veil of secrecy that enables multinational companies to siphon profits out of developing countries.
They let companies shift profits out of the country where they were actually made and into a tax haven with a much lower tax rate. This sleight of hand deprives developing countries of desperately needed tax revenue – money that can build schools and health clinics.
This costs developing countries an estimated £20 million a year. That’s enough to educate an extra 250,000 children in Africa.
photo : ©Jane Hahn/ActionAid
