LONDON – Protesters and lawmakers condemned Barclays Bank after it revealed it paid only £113 million ($184 million) in British corporation tax in 2009 – a fraction of its profits. Opposition lawmaker Chuka Umunna, a member of the parliament’s treasury committee, said it was shocking and accused Prime Minister David Cameron of failing to ensure banks paid a fair contribution towards cutting the deficit.
Across Britain, a number of small protests took place outside Barclays branches by demonstrators complaining that the banks blamed for the financial crisis were now being let off while Britain suffered huge spending cuts. “Books, not bonuses,” said one banner put up by about 40 activists at a branch in London, in reference to libraries closing, while similar protests organised by the group UK Uncut took place in Manchester and Cambridge.
Elswhere in London, about 30 people gathered at the Barclays on Picadilly Circus, including 25-year-old Emma Draper. “The government is allowing banks such as Barclays to get away with not paying huge percentages of their taxes while at the same time slashing public services,” she said. However, the British bank said it was inappropriate to link profits for the group, which operates in 50 countries worldwide, with tax paid in Britain.
In written evidence submitted to the treasury committee late Friday, it said: “In 2009, Barclays paid over £2 billion to HM Revenue and Customs. “Of this, £113 million constituted corporation tax, given Barclays (like other banks) had UK losses brought forward principally arising from credit write downs.” In 2009, Barclays made pre-tax profits of £4.6 billion, meaning it paid just 2.45 percent of its profits in corporation tax.
Umunna condemned the news saying: “This raises serious questions as to whether the government is ensuring banks like Barclays are paying a fair contribution to the deficit they helped create.” In a statement the bank said: “Barclays takes its responsibilities as a corporate citizen very seriously. “We comply with taxation laws in the UK and in all the countries where we do business – both in the spirit and the letter.”
It added: “The corporate tax affairs of an organisation with the global footprint of Barclays are complex and not reducible to simplistic comparisons; any link between Barclays Group profits and the amount of tax paid to the UK government is inappropriate – there is no direct correlation between the two.”
