Two new briefings based on research from the Investigative Desk for the Tobacco Control Research Group reveal the complex networks of subsidiaries that sit behind the financial accounts of two of the world's largest tobacco companies, Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT).
A previous report by the same authors concluded that tobacco’s big four – BAT, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco, and PMI – made extensive use of a wide entire range of common tax avoidance methods. These new briefings explore BAT's and PMI's activities in more detail, looking particularly at the use of subsidiary companies, some of which are based in areas with opaque tax regimes and secretive financial systems. These strategies mean companies making billions in profits from selling deadly, addictive profits, pay very little in tax.
Speaking about the findings, report author Andrew Rowell of the Tobacco Control Research Group said, "Tax authorities need to investigate the use and abuse of convoluted corporate structures in order to better hold companies to account so that they pay appropriate levels of taxation on their profits."
Read the full reports: