Calling Time: Why SABMiller Should Stop Dodging Taxes in Africa

It is a proud part of Ghana’s history that, in 1957, it became the first African state to achieve independence from colonial rule. Fast-forward to 2010, and the country is held up by many as a model of economic and political development – a ‘high achiever’ in the quest to attain the Millennium Development Goals. But, like most countries in Africa, its government needs much more tax revenue to provide the basic public services necessary to alleviate poverty.
 
The 20th century also saw Ghana achieve another, much less significant first: in 1933 its capital,
Accra, become the site of west Africa’s first brewery. Now owned by the multinational giant SABMiller, Accra Brewery has become a textbook example of the techniques used by big business to avoid corporate income taxes. It has paid no income tax in the past two years, but transferred millions of pounds to sister companies in tax havens. The SABMiller group makes profits of
over £2 billion a year. 

ActionAid’s investigation used published financial information, interviews with government officials
and undercover research to find out how SABMiller avoids tax across Africa and India. The cost to the governments affected may be as much as £20 million per year.  
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