Starbucks suffers reputation slump over tax 'avoidance'

Consumer goodwill drains away over coffee chain's failure to pay tax as more politicians call for boycott

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(Image credit: Getty images)

STARBUCKS has suffered serious harm to its reputation over revelations that it pays no corporation tax in the UK, according to pollsters YouGov. The news comes as the coffee shop chain faces calls from MPs for a consumer boycott over its perfectly legal tax affairs.

Reuters reported this week that Starbucks had paid £8.6m in corporation tax since it first opened in the UK in 1998 – and none since 2009. Corporation tax is paid on profits, and Starbucks UK has not reported a profit for the past three years. Despite this, Starbucks officials have regularly described the UK business as "profitable".

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