Trickery on tax

ONE in four of the world’s largest companies are either based offshore in terms of paying their tax or control a subsidiary based in a tax haven, according to research by a stock market index provider.

Morgan Stanley Capital International’s analysis of 1,093 businesses found that 243 had a large tax gap, which meant they were paying an average rate of 17.7pc instead of the 34pc they would have been if they had been paying tax in the places where they generate revenues.

US firms make up roughly onethird of the 243 companies with a large tax gap.