"Shell reveals it paid no UK corporate income tax in 2018", 17 December 2019

Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporate income tax in the UK in 2018 despite the oil and gas group generating pre-tax profits of nearly $731m, after receiving tax refunds related to the decommissioning of North Sea oil platforms.

The figures, published in a report by the Anglo-Dutch company showing a global breakdown of payments, come after it said it would voluntarily disclose how much tax it pays in each country as part of a broader transparency drive...

...Stuart McWilliam, campaign manager at Global Witness, said: "The fact that Shell and other major oil companies are regularly getting huge tax rebates, despite making vast profits, is a feature that is now baked into the UK oil and gas tax system."

To help offset the expenses of plugging and abandoning wells and removing equipment, energy companies are able to claim tax relief, deducting costs from their profits or claiming back duties they had previously paid...

..."Shell is committed to compliance. Specifically, we seek to comply with the applicable tax laws in all the countries and locations in which we have a taxable presence," said Jessica Uhl, Shell's chief financial officer...

...Shell's tax arrangements have been under scrutiny in the Netherlands in recent years after the company relocated its headquarters from London to The Hague, with critics accusing the company of dodging taxes via offshore trusts. Shell confirmed in its new report that it did not pay Dutch corporate taxes apart from at its gas joint venture with ExxonMobil.