Tax questions over Smythson
03/02/2015
The brand, which has its main store in London’s Bond Street, and 14 other outlets in the UK, France, the US and Hong Kong, was acquired by the holding company for Italian leathergoods manufacturer Tivoli Group in 2009.
Since then, according to reports, the holding company has used its own complicated structure to take advantage of tax breaks in Luxembourg and Guernsey to make sure Smythson paid less tax in the UK.
Interest in Smythson’s tax status is unusually high because the brand’s former creative director, Samantha Cameron, is the wife of prime minister, David Cameron, who faces fierce debate about tax levels and budget cuts in the build-up to a general election in May.
Mrs Cameron left the post of creative director in 2010 but continued to work part-time as a creative consultant to Smythson.
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