Wendy's, MacDonalds, BergerKing Tax Evaders?
Restaurants Accused of Tax Evasion
.c The Associated Press
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala has accused three U.S. fast food chains of tax evasion and may force them to close some of their restaurants in this country, officials said Wednesday night.
McDonald's Corp., Wendy's International and Burger King Corp. ``have deliberately avoided paying millions in taxes,'' said Mario Rivera, head of Congress' Public Finance Committee.
``These restaurants in Guatemala are franchise-owned, which means we give them the licensing rights to prepare our products to our specifications and then use our trademarks to market them,'' said Burger King spokeswoman Laina Hanna. ``How they run their business is entirely up to them and they are responsible for paying taxes. The authorities should take up any inquiries with the franchisee.''
McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said he ``didn't know enough to comment'' on the allegations.
A call placed by The Associated Press to Wendy's U.S. headquarters wasn't immediately returned.
In a joint news conference with Rene Perez, the head of Guatemala's tax collection agency, Rivera said the Guatemalan chicken franchise Pollo Campero, which has restaurants throughout Central and South American and Mexico, and Patsy, one of Guatemala's largest bakery chains, have also avoided paying millions of dollars in taxes.
A spokesman for Pollo Campero told local radio stations that his company had done nothing wrong.
Rivera said all five franchises charge their costumers a 12 percent flat tax that is built into the price of the food on their menus. He alleged that the chains have avoided turning over large portions of the money raised from that tax to the government.
Rivera said tax officials have been investigating all five chains for a number of months, but refused to answer specific questions about how much each individual franchise owes.
``We will apply the law in as strict a manner as possible,'' Rivera said. ``If we determine it's necessary, we will close several of the restaurants affiliated with these chains.''
Rivera's announcement came just hours after Congress approved a law that allows federal officials to make public the names of businesses who are being investigated for tax evasion or fraud.
AP-NY-04-03-02 2251EST |
