Le Big Bill: French Tax Officials Accuse McDonald's of Supersizing Profits

Fast food chain McDonald's first hit the headlines this week after revelations it had been banned by the UK Labour from having a stand at the party's conference; but now the burger chain appears to have bigger fish to fry after being served with a US340 million tax bill for allegedly skewing profits in France.

McDonald's said it was "disappointed" that Labour's ruling committee banned it from the annual conference. "McDonald's may not be the trendy falafel bar that some people in politics like to hang out at but it's enjoyed by families across the country," Wes Streeting Labour MP told tabloid newspaper Sun on Sunday, hitting out at the decision.

The ONLY thing banning McDonalds will achieve is to make Labour under Corbyn look more arrogant & out of touch to voters. That's it.

— Andrew Spooner (@andrewspoooner) April 18, 2016​

Well done Labour Party banning McDonald's from your conference; Tax dodgers and introduction of zero hour contracts should not be rewarded.

— Ann Marcial (@ann_marcial) 21 April 2016​

Meanwhile, across the English Channel in France where the appetite for McDonald's is pretty big —with more than 1,300 outlets serving fast food every day, the US burger joint has been accused by French tax officials of using the company McD Europe Franchising to funnel profits through Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Le Tax Bill

McDonald's France declined to comment on tax avoidance allegations and said:

"McDonald's is one of the biggest payers of company tax in France and we're proud of it," adding that it paid US$1.36 billion in tax and invested another US$1.13 billion in France, creating more than 15,000 jobs since 2009.

Investigations into the fast food chain's tax affairs have been going on since 2013 as part of the French government's decision to crack down on multinational companies moving their profits abroad.

#TaxTransparency — proposal on public reporting requirements for largest companies in EU — https://t.co/n8xdONzSp2https://t.co/J9zUUco6PY

— European Commission (@EU_Commission) 12 April 2016​

However eating McDonald's food in France is so popular it's become the second biggest market after the US with annual sales of US$4.9 billion.

Meanwhile, the decision to ban McDonald's from the UK Labour party conference is due to its "failed" record of employment rights according to the party leader's spokesman. Jeremy Corbyn — who doesn't eat meat — has been accused of "vegetarian snobbery."