DP World pledges to appeal after exposure of £14m tax relief scheme

DP World, the global ports group controlled by the Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has pledged to pursue a court appeal after a scheme to artificially generate £14m of tax relief was thrown out by a tribunal last week.

The dispute with HMRC relates to a scheme dreamed up by P&O in 2004. At the time, KPMG were auditors and tax advisers to P&O, receiving £5.2m in fees during 2004, including £2.8m in tax work and other non-audit fees.

P&O transactions between UK and Australian subsidiaries in October 2004 sought to artificially create a UK tax credit for foreign tax payments. Such avoidance structures are known as “rate booster” schemes. Last week the tribunal branded the scheme “an elaborate trick”.

More at The Guardian