Facebook to Overhaul Irish Tax Scheme

Facebook is to overhaul its tax structure so that it pays tax in the country where profits are earned, instead of using an Irish subsidiary, BBC reports.

The online advertising giant is to make the change in every country outside the US where it has an office.

In 2016, Facebook said it would stop routing UK sales through Ireland for tax purposes.

The change comes after pressure on large firms over their tax affairs from governments and the public.

Facebook chief financial officer Dave Wehner said: “We believe that moving to a local selling structure will provide more transparency to governments and policy makers around the world who have called for greater visibility over the revenue associated with locally- supported in their countries.”

The move will affect how Facebook pays taxes in 30 countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.

In the UK, there was public outrage after it emerged that Facebook had paid just £ 4,327 in tax in 2014. sales

In April 2016, the company began booking more advertising income through its UK office, instead of Ireland.

That significantly boosted revenue and profits for its UK business, and has meant that so far it has paid higher taxes.

Facebook paid £5.1m in tax in the UK last year, up from £4.2m in 2015, on revenues of £842m.