Look how much Facebook’s paid in UK corporation tax now
Facebook's tax bill has sky rocketed in the UK after changing the way its business is structured, however, it has also racked up a credit from the tax man worth millions more effectively cancelling that out.
The social network was billed £4.2m in corporation tax for the year to the end of 2015, newly filed documents show, compared to the paltry sum of £4,327 it paid the year before – less than the cost of some annual travel cards for commuting into London – causing uproar.
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However, that amount was deducted from a tax credit of £15.5m, leaving a remaining credit of just over £11m which can be applied in the coming years to reduce its tax bill.
The credit was down to changes in its reporting and a bonus payout scheme which more than doubled to £71m. That increased losses after tax by 44 per cent to £41.2m while turnover more than doubled to £210m.
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Facebook promised to change the way it structured its business in the UK earlier this year, stopping ad revenue from being routed through Ireland. The change will result in it paying millions more in corporation tax the company said at the time, but it not yet recorded in its most recent annual accounts.
"We are proud that in 2015 we have continued to grow our business in the UK and created over 300 new high skilled jobs. We pay all the taxes that we are required to under UK law," said a Facebook spokesperson.