# Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/palantir-paid-just-2m-corporation-tax-in-uk-in-2024-despite-lucrative-public-sector-contracts/
- Published: 2026-08-05T05:00:09+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-05T05:33:21+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/05/palantir-corporation-tax-uk-2024-accounting-practices
- Topics: Business, Government, Politics, Software, Technology, UK, World

## Key points

- Palantir paid £2.1m UK corporation tax in 2024 on £247m revenue
- Report says firm shifts profits to US via transfer pricing
- Union calls for government to stop awarding it public contracts

## Summary

Palantir, the US software firm that has secured major contracts with the NHS and Ministry of Defence, paid just £2.1m in UK corporation tax in 2024 despite booking £247m in UK revenues, according to a new report. The research, commissioned by the trade union Unison, found the company's global effective tax rate is just 1.4%, with critics arguing its accounting practices allow it to shift profits away from where the work is actually done, undermining the public services it is paid to support.

The report, published by the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, found Palantir's UK effective tax rate was around 8% against a 25% headline rate, with the shortfall attributed largely to "transfer pricing", whereby UK contracts are booked through Palantir's US parent company. The firm, whose CEO Alex Karp this week forecast revenues would almost double to $8bn, holds an estimated £670m in UK government contracts, including a £240m MoD deal awarded without competitive tender. Unison's Andrea Egan said tax-avoiding firms should not be handed public service contracts.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.