Change in tax rates forces Diageo to write off €624m

A change in Dutch tax rates has resulted in Guinness owner — Diageo — writing off €624 million in deferred tax assets.

Diageo, which own Guinness, Baileys and Bushmills finalised tax negotiations with authorities in the Netherlands, resulting in a loss of future tax reductions to the value of over half-a-billion euro.

Diageo said that the negotiations had resulted in a promise to keep the company’s effective tax rate at about 18%, compared to 21.8% in the second half of 2010.