McDonald's pays 1.2B Euros in French tax evasion settlement
France accused McDonald's of moving revenue to Switzerland
The McDonald's restaurant chain agreed to pay more than 1.2 billion Euros, or $1.3 billion, to settle a tax evasion case from the French government Thursday.
The French government accused the fast food chain of wrongfully shifting revenue to Luxembourg and Switzerland. The settlement includes a 508 million-Euro payment, as well as 737 million Euros in back taxes and penalties.
Lawyers for McDonald's argued the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
"It's a judicial agreement.... to avoid a trial, which is a very long and inevitably uncertain process," lawyer Denis Chemla told Reuters.
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The logo for McDonald's restaurant is seen as McDonald's Corp. reports fourth quarter earnings, in Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 27, 2022. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts / Reuters Photos)
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The settlement comes months after McDonald's suspended operations in Russia due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
A McDonald's restaurant is seen as McDonald's Corp. reports fourth quarter earnings, in Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 27, 2022. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts / Reuters Photos)
Russia has sought to alleviate the absence by reviving the defunct McDonald's chains under a new brand name, which translates to "Tasty, Period."
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McDonald's initially was not able to close all of its restaurants in Russia, however, as some are owned by franchisees and cannot be closed by the corporate office. The company then decided to sell all 850 of its Russia restaurants to Alexander Govor, who already owned 25 franchises.