[ad_1]
The billionaire owners of Asda have denied setting up companies in Jersey for tax purposes amid an ongoing inquiry into their sprawling business empire.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who bought Asda in a debt-fuelled £6.8bn deal two years ago, are facing growing questions from MPs over their complex business structure and huge debt pile.
Political scrutiny led to accusations last month that Mohsin Issa has “misled” Parliament by submitting evidence that contained inaccuracies.
However, Mr Issa has now sought to ease concerns over Asda’s corporate structure.
In a letter to Labour’s Liam Byrne, who chairs the business and trade committee, the Asda co-owner said: “We would like to take this opportunity to confirm that no companies in the Asda ownership structure are incorporated in jurisdictions outside of England and Wales due to any ‘tax haven’ status.
“We can further confirm that all of the companies are UK tax residents regardless of where they are incorporated, they each file UK corporation tax returns and pay UK corporation tax on profits in accordance with UK tax legislation.”
Mr Issa said an “administrative error” had led to previous correspondence which indicated some Asda companies were incorporated in Jersey rather than England and Wales.
He said: “We do not believe that this error amounted to us having misled the committee.”
His comments come amid a push from MPs to obtain more information from the brothers, whose businesses include the fast food chain Leon and the petrol station business EG Group.
[ad_2]
Source link