Marks & Spencer (traditionally known as M&S) the British clothing and food retailer, has been actively expanding its online store operations. The website claims that ordered goods can be delivered to 80 international locations. The website can also be specifically tailored to customers from Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Spain.

The retailer has arranged its operations in such a way that the shipping of goods is done from a warehouse in the UK, but the transactions are invoiced to Ireland. The Republic of Ireland currently has the lowest corporation tax in the EU. The UK branch is paid the wholesale price for the goods shipped to Ireland. This sum is, of course, the subject of UK corporate tax. The rest is taxed with Ireland’s 12.5%.

This structure is used by M&S for sales occurring outside the UK.