Shell have signalled this week they intend to move their tax base to the UK from the Netherlands.
This is a result of the Dutch government introducing a new withholding tax on dividends in response to pressure from environmental considerations.
The UK has no withholding tax on dividends, and despite the last minute game of ‘cat and mouse’ from the Dutch Government, the position of Shell is to go ahead as planned and move to the UK.
The fallout of this is potentially more acute to corporations as a whole where companies have for many years taken advantage of favourable Corporation Tax rules in the Netherlands for Group level profits as this must be cause for consideration going forwards.
Michael Clarke
CFO