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Shell Tax Avoidance

Shell Throws a Tantrum Over $99 Million Tax Bill

May 17th, 2024
by John Donovan.
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Posted by John Donovan: 17 May 2024

In a classic display of corporate audacity, Shell is throwing a fit and suing the Australian Tax Office (ATO) over a claim that it owes a measly $99 million in unpaid taxes. This dispute stems from Shell’s $3.5 billion exit from Woodside Petroleum back in 2017. Because when you’re a multibillion-dollar oil giant, every penny counts, right?

The ATO has the audacity to argue that Shell understated its capital gains by a whopping $193.9 million for the 2017 sale and an additional $135.7 million for a 2014 sale. But Shell, with its pristine track record of environmental and financial responsibility (cue laughter), insists it has complied with all tax obligations. They even claim to have a “cooperative relationship” with the ATO. Cooperative, as in, “We cooperate by trying to pay as little tax as possible.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Despite windfall tax and record profits, Shell paid just £15 million to UK, 22p per Brit last year

Mar 29th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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Global Witness

Despite windfall tax and record profits, Shell paid just £15 million to UK, 22p per Brit last year

By comparison Norway received £6.3 billion from Shell, over a grand per Norwegian

28th March 2023, London – Energy giant Shell paid just £15 million in taxes and fees to the UK last year on their drilling, compared to over £6.3 billion to the Norwegian government over the same period, according to Global Witness analysis of Shell’s latest tax reporting, released today.

This means Shell paid around just 22p per UK citizen, compared to the £1,171 it paid for every citizen of Norway. This £15 million is much closer to the £9.7 million it awarded its CEO in 2022, than the considerably more it paid to most other countries in which it drills. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s tax-free days in the Bahamas are numbered

Jan 15th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Business Standard

Shell’s tax-free days in the Bahamas are numbered

Companies like Shell have long exploited tax shelters to further profits but as global tax pressure increases, the advantageous rates tax havens offer will come under pressure

Shell achieved excellent returns employing just 35 people in Nassau. Its staff worldwide numbers 87,000.  

Javier Blas: 13 January, 2022

Oil trading is a very profitable business. If you manage to pay no taxes on it and can work from a Caribbean beach, well, then it’s corporate heaven. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Jumps Out Of Fire And Lands In The Frying Pan

Nov 20th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Seeking Alpha

Shell Jumps Out Of Fire And Lands In The Frying Pan

Zoltan Ban: Nov. 19, 2021
  • Shell’s move to exit the Dutch tax and legal jurisdiction is officially presented as an issue of dividend taxation that Shell and others hoped for years to see it repealed.
  • Though it is not much discussed by Shell or the media, the harsh environmental ruling by a Dutch court that forces Shell to cut emissions may have played a role.
  • Even though Shell is not currently faced with similar legal pressures in the UK, it may nevertheless feel other pressures to cut emissions by a similar margin.
  • Shell’s upstream segment is the most likely part of the business that will be sacrificed to environmental pressures.
  • Shell will most likely try to adapt its LNG and petrochemicals sector to lower emissions, that will make it less profitable. Higher natural gas prices will add to profitability concerns.

Investment thesis: Shell (RDS.A), (RDS.B) is leaving the Dutch legal jurisdiction, officially due to some dividend tax issues and it will make the UK its sole home base. Unofficially, it may be in large part a way to escape a court-imposed emissions reduction demand on its business activities. While the move to escape a legally binding cut of 45% compared with 2020 levels by 2030 is potentially avoided through this move, the internal, as well as external pressures for it to cut emissions, hydrocarbons production, and so on, will not cease. read more

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Shell and BP paid zero tax on North Sea gas and oil for three years

Oct 30th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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The Observer: Shell and BP paid zero tax on North Sea gas and oil for three years

Jon Ungoed-Thomas: Sat 30 Oct 2021 20.15 BST

Shell and BP, which together produce more than 1.7bn tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, have not paid any corporation tax on oil and gas production in the North Sea for the last three years, company filings reveal.

The oil giants, which have an annual global footprint of greenhouse gases more than five times bigger than Britain’s, are benefiting from billions of pounds of tax breaks and reliefs for oil and gas production. read more

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Shell’s failed blundering attempt to kill my royaldutchshell.website

Jul 29th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell’s failed blundering attempt to kill my royaldutchshell.website

By John Donovan (last updated 5 Sept 2021)

Last week, a CYBERSECURITY INTELLIGENCE outfit acting for Shell issued a 5-day ultimatum on behalf of Shell to the company hosting my royaldutchshell.website.

I would not have had a clue about the ultimatum letter if the hosting company had not tipped me off about what was going on behind my back at Shell’s direction.

For 26 years, I have used the Internet as a medium to criticise and expose Shell’s unscrupulous dishonest activities, including, for example, the Shell securities fraud that ruined Shell’s reputation. read more

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The man who terrifies Unilever and Shell

Dec 23rd, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Translation of an article published 22 Dec 2020 by the Dutch Financial newspaper, the FD. 

The man who terrifies Unilever and Shell

…it turned out that Shell, Philips and Akzo, among others, did not pay profit tax in the Netherlands, to the indignation of Snels. Now that the cabinet has adopted its ‘Shell law’, that detour has been closed on 1 January.

Lisa van der Velden Ulko Jonker 22 Dec.2020

In the past six months, GroenLinks MP Bart Snels played a cat-and-mouse game with food giant Unilever. But then the cat packed up and moved to the UK. While the game has not yet been played, as far as Snels is concerned. “I thought Unilever would be wise.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The islands that are deep wells of profit for European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Dec 10th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Special Report: How oil majors shift billions in profits to island tax havens

Shell and other oil majors are avoiding hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes in countries where they drill by shifting profits to thinly staffed insurance and finance affiliates based in tax havens… Shell denied that its arrangements constituted tax avoidance… Shell booked $1.3 billion in 2018 and 2019 profits through Bermuda-based banking and insurance subsidiaries that together employed three people… read more

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North Sea Neighbors on Opposite Ends of Shell’s Tax Bill

Nov 18th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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North Sea Neighbors on Opposite Ends of Shell’s Tax Bill

By Laura Hurst: 17 November 2020, 11:21 GMT: Updated on 17 November 2020, 13:14 GMT

  • Energy giant gets money back from Britain for a second year
  • Norway, however, taps company for more than $1 billion

Royal Dutch Shell Plc pumps thousands of barrels of oil and gas from the North Sea every day. In Norway the energy major paid over a billion dollars in tax last year, but on the U.K. side, it got more than a hundred million dollars back.

The discrepancy reflects contrasting government policies and spending by the oil and gas giant. In Norway, Shell had an effective tax rate of 78%. In Britain, it paid no corporation tax because of losses tied to investments in new North Sea fields. It also earned rebates from dismantling old platforms in the region. read more

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Shell reveals latest year without paying UK corporation tax

Nov 18th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Shell reveals latest year without paying UK corporation tax

Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporation tax in the UK last year even as it paid out billions of dollars in other jurisdictions.

Anjli Raval, Senior Energy Correspondent

The Anglo-Dutch oil major paid a total of $7.8bn in corporate income tax and $5.9bn in royalties last year on pre-tax profits of $25.5bn, according to an annual report published on Tuesday.

But the UK — along with France, South Africa and Indonesia — returned money to the company.

Shell received $116m from the UK government, following a similar return to the company in 2018, which it attributed to tax losses linked to investments in new North Sea fields and rebates tied to the decommissioning of ageing oil platforms. read more

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Shell wins Sijthoff prize for reporting in a disaster year for the oil sector

Oct 30th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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English translation of an article published by the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times, the FD. 

Shell wins Sijthoff prize for reporting in a disaster year in the oil sector

“This is remarkable, now that the oil and gas company is under social pressure, such as because of tax morality with regard to remittances in the Netherlands…”

Cor de Horde and Pim Kakebeeke: October 29, 2020

Shell receives the FD Henri Sijthoff prize from Sijthoff jury member Roderick Munsters (right) during an online meeting Photo: Sander van Nieuwenhuys read more

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Remainers proved wrong as Shell boss hints at switching HQ from Netherlands to London

Jul 7th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Remainers proved wrong as Shell boss hints at switching HQ from Netherlands to London

OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell could relocate its headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK in a post-Brexit boost for the country.

By JOE BARNES, BRUSSELS CORRESPONDENT   Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive, hinted the company is seeking to simplify its complex capital structures. The potential move would be considered a significant victory for Britain in the months after quitting the European Union. Just last month Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group, revealed it would merge its British and Dutch holding companies into one based in London.

Asked whether Shell could replicate Unilever, Mr van Beurden told Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad: “One always needs to keep thinking.

“Nothing is permanent and, of course, we take the investment climate into account.

“But moving your HQ is not a trivial measure, one should not be too easy about that.”

The oil giant is one of the largest listed companies in the UK, with a market capitalisation of £100 billion and more than 80,000 employees around the world. read more

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Shell Leaving would be an ‘eternal’ sin, but no disaster

Jul 6th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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English translation of an article published today by the FD

Commentator: Shell leaving would be an ‘eternal’ sin, but no disaster

Shell is considering moving its headquarters from The Hague to London. It should come as no surprise. The fact that it is seriously considering this step was already written in the stars when the promised abolition of dividend tax would not go ahead.

The energy giant is a British company, but has its headquarters in The Hague. This construction was chosen on the assumption that the dividend tax would be abolished. When that fell through after public pressure, Shell had to look for other constructions to solve the perceived complexity of the dual structure. read more

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Shell is considering moving its head office

Jul 4th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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English translation of an article published 4 July 2020 by the FD: Bert van Dijk

Shell is considering moving its head office

It is uncertain whether Shell wants to keep its headquarters in the Netherlands, now that a controversial plan by the cabinet to abolish dividend tax has been definitively off the table. That says Shell CEO Ben van Beurden in an interview with the FD.

The energy giant is a British company, but has its headquarters in The Hague. Shell chose this construction on the assumption that dividend tax would be abolished, says Van Beurden. In October 2018, the government withdrew this intention after public pressure. As a result, Shell looks at its current British-Dutch structure with different eyes, according to the CEO. read more

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Shell CEO does not rule out moving headquarters to Britain

Jul 4th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Saturday, July 04, 2020 5:05 a.m. EDT by Thomson Reuters

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is not ruling out moving its headquarters from the Netherlands to Britain, the oil company’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said in a Dutch newspaper interview published on Saturday.

Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever said last month it plans to ditch its dual Anglo-Dutch legal structure and create a single entity in Britain.

Van Beurden did not explicitly say Shell wants to move its headquarters, het Financieele Dagblad said.

“You always need to keep thinking,” Shell’s Van Beurden told the newspaper. “Nothing is permanent and of course we will look at the business climate. But moving your headquarters is not a trivial measure. You cannot think too lightly about that.” read more

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EnergyVoice.com: UK regime sees Shell pay no taxes on North Sea business in 2019

Apr 8th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Energy giant Shell paid no taxes on its upstream oil and gas business to the UK government last year, instead receiving large rebates, according to a new report.

by Allister Thomas: 8/04/2020, 6:00 am

Shell has published its Payments to Governments report, a legally required document outlining contributions it made to countries around the world in 2019 from its extractive oil and gas activities.

It shows the oil major paid no taxes for upstream to the UK last year, instead receiving a $116.5m (£94.5m) refund from HM Revenue and Customs, mainly related to decommissioning.

Activist group Greenpeace reacted with “anger” to the report and the tax regime in the United Kingdom.

The UK’s system, designed to encourage future investment, means that participators in certain older oil fields can carry-back losses – such as those arising from decommissioning – against profits previously made from them. This can lead to repayments of Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT). read more

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