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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/04/google-tax-avoidance-uk-public-pays

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Google fails to measure up on tax, and it's the UK public who has to pay Google fails to measure up on tax, and it's the UK public who has to pay
(2 months later)
They're fast. So fast. They have always been proud of their speeds. They can find the results to any question the human brain can ask in just 0.0023 milliseconds. They proudly describe their Chrome browser as being "fast in every possible way". And for years they were the fastest-growing company around.They're fast. So fast. They have always been proud of their speeds. They can find the results to any question the human brain can ask in just 0.0023 milliseconds. They proudly describe their Chrome browser as being "fast in every possible way". And for years they were the fastest-growing company around.
But now Google has really pulled a fast one. Revelations this week show that it paid just £11.6m to the Treasury, despite generating $5.5bn (£3.4bn) income in the UK alone. This figure is £666m less than would have been paid at the full 20% corporation tax rate – that's enough to pay for 22,000 nurses or to pay for jobseeker's allowance for 220,000 people for a year. But it is starting to feel like the same old story – another big company getting away with millions while normal people bare the brunt of a crisis they didn't cause. But now Google has really pulled a fast one. Revelations this week show that it paid just £11.6m to the Treasury, despite generating $5.5bn (£3.4bn) of business in the UK alone. It is starting to feel like the same old story – another big company getting away with millions while normal people bare the brunt of a crisis they didn't cause.
But just because this news may feel like old news, that doesn't stop the outrage that people feel from being very real. It is outrageous that Google can get away with such a steal, while children's centres, women's crises centres and, most recently, legal aid, which allows ordinary people to challenge bad government decisions, are all being taken away. It's hardly surprising people are planning protests against these brutal cuts.But just because this news may feel like old news, that doesn't stop the outrage that people feel from being very real. It is outrageous that Google can get away with such a steal, while children's centres, women's crises centres and, most recently, legal aid, which allows ordinary people to challenge bad government decisions, are all being taken away. It's hardly surprising people are planning protests against these brutal cuts.
This news is proof – if proof were needed – that the government's hard talk on tax avoidance has been nothing but empty rhetoric. The revelations come after years of government statements about "going after wealthy tax dodgers" who need to "wake up and smell the coffee". These aren't quotes from the Tax Justice Network, or even from Margaret Hodge and the public accounts committee – they are quotes from Osborne and Cameron themselves. This government – right from the top – has been happy to talk the talk in the face of criticism of tax-dodging. But their silence in the face of Google's dodgy news shows that when push comes to shove, they are just not willing to walk the walk.This news is proof – if proof were needed – that the government's hard talk on tax avoidance has been nothing but empty rhetoric. The revelations come after years of government statements about "going after wealthy tax dodgers" who need to "wake up and smell the coffee". These aren't quotes from the Tax Justice Network, or even from Margaret Hodge and the public accounts committee – they are quotes from Osborne and Cameron themselves. This government – right from the top – has been happy to talk the talk in the face of criticism of tax-dodging. But their silence in the face of Google's dodgy news shows that when push comes to shove, they are just not willing to walk the walk.
We can't accept the lie that the government is pursuing its radical austerity agenda in the interests of ordinary people. The UK is not broke, the government is just changing the wrong laws. In the realm of legal changes, the government is choosing not to close tax loopholes and chase Google for money. Instead, it is choosing to take away ordinary people's access to justice.We can't accept the lie that the government is pursuing its radical austerity agenda in the interests of ordinary people. The UK is not broke, the government is just changing the wrong laws. In the realm of legal changes, the government is choosing not to close tax loopholes and chase Google for money. Instead, it is choosing to take away ordinary people's access to justice.
People will not stand for this injustice – they will not let the government ignore such outrage from one of the richest companies in the world, while taking away the rights of everyday people.People will not stand for this injustice – they will not let the government ignore such outrage from one of the richest companies in the world, while taking away the rights of everyday people.
That's why tomorrow, 5 October, hundreds of people will take part in UK Uncut's Roadblocks for Justice protests in London and around the UK. By blocking roads outside of courts, we will be symbolically highlighting the devastating effect that changes to legal aid will have on access to justice. This week's revelations about Google show more clearly than ever that such changes are not necessary – instead, they are part of an ideological agenda to govern for the few and not the many, and to stop people from challenging the government's bad decisions.That's why tomorrow, 5 October, hundreds of people will take part in UK Uncut's Roadblocks for Justice protests in London and around the UK. By blocking roads outside of courts, we will be symbolically highlighting the devastating effect that changes to legal aid will have on access to justice. This week's revelations about Google show more clearly than ever that such changes are not necessary – instead, they are part of an ideological agenda to govern for the few and not the many, and to stop people from challenging the government's bad decisions.
• This article was amended on 2 December. It originally said that the amount paid by Google to the UK Treasury was £666m less than would have been paid at the full rate of corporation tax rate. This figure was arrived at after wrongly applying what was believed to be the corporation tax rate to the business generated by Google in the UK of $5.5bn. However, corporation tax only applies to profit. There is no suggestion that Google has not paid corporation tax at the appropriate level on its declared profits in the UK.
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