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BP sues UK gov for £300m over decade-old tax bill
Business digest: Oil giant claims it was misled over duty paid on 1999 Arco deal
BP is suing the British government for just under £300m in compensation for a "disputed duty" that it paid on a deal made in 1999. It is backed by US bank JP Morgan and third claimant Guaranty Nominee.
The oil giant wants £186.4m, plus compound interest of £96.2m and damages compensation, for stamp duty reserve tax it paid when it bought Atlantic Richfield (Arco) over a decade ago, according to a claim filed to the High Court in December 2010.
The amount of tax paid by large corporations has recently come under scrutiny following reports that 46 FTSE-100 companies do not list their offshore subsidiaries to Company House. BP has 67 offshore companies, which can technically be used to avoid duties that would have to be paid if based in Britain.
Earlier this month it was revealed that despite profits of £11.6bn in 2009, Barclays, which has 300 offshore branches, only paid £113m in tax.
Read a full report at the Daily Telegraph. ·
