Starbucks UK profit rises, taxes decrease

The UK division of Starbucks UK on Tuesday reported higher profits for the year ending September 27, even as its tax payment to Britain decreased by as much as 28%.

The US-listed coffee chain paid 8.1 million pounds ($12.18 million) in tax, down from 11.4 million pounds for the same period last year.

Profit before tax grew to 34.2 million pounds for 2015 compared with 2 million pounds for the same period last year, the company said.

Comparable sales for the year grew by 3.8%, while the company's operating margin was at 6.9%, its highest since it began operations in Britain.

In October, EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager ruled that corporations such as Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler benefited from illegal tax deals with Dutch and Luxembourg authorities and ordered the Netherlands to recover 20 million to 30 million euros ($23 million to $34 million) in back taxes from the US coffee shop chain.