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| Google tax: David Cameron defends £130m UK tax deal | Google tax: David Cameron defends £130m UK tax deal |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Prime Minister David Cameron has defended the deal the UK authorities have struck with Google to get it to pay back taxes. | Prime Minister David Cameron has defended the deal the UK authorities have struck with Google to get it to pay back taxes. |
| Google agreed last week to pay £130m in back tax to HM Revenue and Customs, with an official saying that this was the "full tax due in law". | Google agreed last week to pay £130m in back tax to HM Revenue and Customs, with an official saying that this was the "full tax due in law". |
| The prime minister also told the Commons that the last Labour government had been lax at collecting such taxes. | The prime minister also told the Commons that the last Labour government had been lax at collecting such taxes. |
| But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the deal amounted to a tax rate of 3% | |
| Mr Cameron was challenged during Prime Minister's Questions about the amount of tax paid by the US internet search giant. | Mr Cameron was challenged during Prime Minister's Questions about the amount of tax paid by the US internet search giant. |
| Live updates: PMQs reaction | |
| PMQs: Labour attacks PM's 'bunch of migrants' comment | PMQs: Labour attacks PM's 'bunch of migrants' comment |
| "We have put in place the diverted profit tax that means that this company and other companies will pay more tax in future and more tax in future than they ever paid under Labour, where the tax rate for Google was zero per cent," said Mr Cameron. | "We have put in place the diverted profit tax that means that this company and other companies will pay more tax in future and more tax in future than they ever paid under Labour, where the tax rate for Google was zero per cent," said Mr Cameron. |
| "I'm absolutely clear that no government has done more than this one to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. No government and certainly not the last Labour government," he added. | "I'm absolutely clear that no government has done more than this one to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. No government and certainly not the last Labour government," he added. |
| Meanwhile, European MPs want Chancellor George Osborne to explain the "very bad deal" that UK tax authorities have struck with Google. | Meanwhile, European MPs want Chancellor George Osborne to explain the "very bad deal" that UK tax authorities have struck with Google. |
| But the vice-chairwoman of a European tax committee said the deal showed the UK was preparing "to become a kind of tax haven to attract multinationals". | But the vice-chairwoman of a European tax committee said the deal showed the UK was preparing "to become a kind of tax haven to attract multinationals". |
| French MEP Eva Joly said the settlement was "bad news for everybody" and told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that MEPs would call the chancellor to appear before them. | French MEP Eva Joly said the settlement was "bad news for everybody" and told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that MEPs would call the chancellor to appear before them. |
| She said it was difficult to know on what basis the figure was reached and she criticised the attempt to "make publicity out of it" by talking about large-sounding figures which she said were a fraction of what should be paid. | She said it was difficult to know on what basis the figure was reached and she criticised the attempt to "make publicity out of it" by talking about large-sounding figures which she said were a fraction of what should be paid. |
| Ms Joly, who is vice-chairwoman of the Special European Parliamentary Committee on Tax Rulings, said: "We will ask him [Mr Osborne] to come and explain and I hope he will." | Ms Joly, who is vice-chairwoman of the Special European Parliamentary Committee on Tax Rulings, said: "We will ask him [Mr Osborne] to come and explain and I hope he will." |
| 'Relatively small' | 'Relatively small' |
| The call comes on top of criticism Mr Osborne has already faced from some politicians in the UK over the tax deal. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has written to him demanding details of how the settlement was reached. | The call comes on top of criticism Mr Osborne has already faced from some politicians in the UK over the tax deal. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has written to him demanding details of how the settlement was reached. |
| And Conservative MP Mark Garnier, a member of the Treasury committee, said the agreement represented a "relatively small" amount of money compared with Google's UK profits. | And Conservative MP Mark Garnier, a member of the Treasury committee, said the agreement represented a "relatively small" amount of money compared with Google's UK profits. |
| Reports in Wednesday's Times newspaper say Italy is poised to strike a far tougher tax deal with Google than the UK's. It refers to stories in Italian media that suggest Google will pay £113m in back taxes to the Italian government. The deal has not yet been completed so it is not known how many years it covers. | Reports in Wednesday's Times newspaper say Italy is poised to strike a far tougher tax deal with Google than the UK's. It refers to stories in Italian media that suggest Google will pay £113m in back taxes to the Italian government. The deal has not yet been completed so it is not known how many years it covers. |
| The Italian finance minister can also expect a call to appear before the MEPs, according to Ms Joly. | The Italian finance minister can also expect a call to appear before the MEPs, according to Ms Joly. |
| Multinationals | Multinationals |
| Google agreed to pay the back taxes after an "open audit" of its accounts by the UK tax authorities. | Google agreed to pay the back taxes after an "open audit" of its accounts by the UK tax authorities. |
| The payment covers money owed since 2005 and follows a six-year inquiry by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. | The payment covers money owed since 2005 and follows a six-year inquiry by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. |
| Google is one of several multinational companies to be have been accused of avoiding tax, in spite of making billions of pounds of sales in Britain. | Google is one of several multinational companies to be have been accused of avoiding tax, in spite of making billions of pounds of sales in Britain. |
| Senior figures at the company said it would follow new rules which would see it pay more taxes in future. | Senior figures at the company said it would follow new rules which would see it pay more taxes in future. |
| Head of Google Europe Matt Brittin said last week: "We were applying the rules as they were and that was then and now we are going to be applying the new rules, which means we will be paying more tax." | Head of Google Europe Matt Brittin said last week: "We were applying the rules as they were and that was then and now we are going to be applying the new rules, which means we will be paying more tax." |