Facebook says that it that shelled out £4.16 million ($5.16 million) in UK corporation tax during the 2015 fiscal year, marking a huge leap ahead from the meager £4,327 ($5,367) from 2014.
The company's books indicate that it scored a turnover of £210 ($260.75) million, and a taxable profit of £20 million, on which it paid standard UK corporation tax rate.
Despite keeping in line with UK taxation requirements, Facebook drew fire from critics across the media board and political spectrum. The main complaint was that the company avoids paying a fair amount of taxes in countries where it does business.
As a response to the chastising, Facebook tweaked its tax structure in the United Kingdom, as shown by its annual financial statements (PDF).
As a result, ad sales from the UK counted as taking place in the country, rather than in Ireland, which was a tax loophole the company used in the past to pay minimal levels of tax on billions of dollars in profits.
The overhaul of the company's taxation approach should mean that the U.K.'s coffers will be seeing more Facebook revenue this year, as well as into the future.
Insiders from the company said that the new tax policy will bring additional transparency, while acknowledging the importance of local organizations in adding value to the company, especially via the highly skilled sales team.
At the same time, the $5.16 million might not be enough to appease all Facebook's critics, who claim that Facebook still comes out on top, as it banked approximately £11 million in tax credits. The credits can be leveraged to pay upcoming UK taxes.
That is not to say that the company's decision to change its ways was purely altruistic. The UK has implemented the "Google tax," a measure meant to put a halt to tax evasion through deviating profits into other nations. The Google tax stipulates that all incomes that are discovered to have been diverted out of the country will be taxed with 25 percent, which is above the existing corporation tax.
The Brits started to crack down on enterprises that use creative accounting schemes to pay low taxes in the country. In January, Google had to pay £130 ($185) million in back taxes, and the new regulations made it mandatory for ventures such as Amazon, to book sales in the UK to make them taxable.
Facebook currently employs more than 1,000 people in the United Kingdom.
