The Netherlands once again a tax haven for multinationals

Several multinationals file their trademark rights in the Netherlands in order to gain a tax advantage. Other countries are missing out on tax revenue. In the United Kingdom, for example, Starbucks and Ikea are under fire. These companies have filed various trademark rights in the Netherlands in order to obtain tax advantages. This is at the expense of the public purse of Great Britain. 

In 2011, Starbucks in the UK had to pay 6% of its turnover in licence fees to Starbucks Coffee Emea in Amsterdam. Since the American coffee company has registered its brand name as a license in the Netherlands. As a result, Starbucks stores in Europe and the Middle East pay Starbucks Coffee Emea (Amsterdam).
Most of these license fees are channeled back to the American parent company by Starbucks Coffee Emea.

The Netherlands is an attractive country to house royalties because only the difference between the incoming and outgoing royalties is taxed. The advantage of this is that Starbucks' royalties paid in the United Kingdom are classified as costs, which keeps profit before tax low. This tax benefit can add up considerably. As a result, Starbucks in the United Kingdom and Germany has a negative result, which means that no tax has to be paid on the result.   The financial newspaper has investigated this. This shows that multinationals such as SABMiller, Nike, Bacardi-Martini, Zara, Speedo and Volkswagen have also opted for such a construction.

In principle, the construction is legal, although companies do not flaunt such constructions. Whether a company uses such a construction is usually not transparent. For example, they are not mentioned in the consolidated financial statements.