Cadbury’s grandson blasts chocolate firm after it pays ZERO corporation tax

CADBURY’S grandson has blasted the chocolate firm after claims it paid ZERO corporation tax despite making £185million profit in UK last year.

American owner Mondelez UK Ltd, which sells favourites such as Flake, Boost and Crunchie bars, offset its profits to avoid a potential £35million tax bill, according to the Daily Mirror.

Now James Cadbury - great-great-great-grandson of founder John Cadbury - has blasted the company for “playing the system”.

He told The Mirror his ancestors would be “disappointed with the way [the firm] was now being run”.

James, 33, added: "Cadbury as a family were always about principles and ethics."

The firm is an offshoot of Chicago-based Mondelez International - formerly known as Kraft - which said it complies with the laws in all the countries it operates.

But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told the paper: “This will do nothing but anger people who are going out to work every day, paying their taxes through PAYE.”

Mondelez UK Ltd is the largest of 48 British subsidiary companies of the US parent. In total, the UK offshoots paid £5.9million in corporation tax last year on profits of £1.3billion.

The profit surge was mainly due to £146million of dividends from two subsidiaries; a coffee business and the sale of its Terry’s chocolate business.

The cash offset its profits and helped cut the corporation tax to zero.

A spokesman for Mondelez said the firm contributes to the UK economy through “direct spending on employees and suppliers, and the recirculation of that expenditure in the economy”.

He said: “In common with all global businesses, we pay corporation tax based on the laws of the countries in which we operate.

“We comply with all applicable tax legislation in the UK, as directed by HMRC and the government. We are a global company, operating and paying tax in more than 165 countries and on a global basis we pay hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate income tax annually.”