Google agrees 130m pound in UK tax to the HMRC

Google agrees 130m pound in UK tax to the HMRC

 

Google has announced today that they would be paying more tax in the UK, after an being accused of underpaying tax over the course of several years in the UK. 

The company will be paying £130m in back taxes for the years between 2005 and 2011. The UK is one of Google’s biggest markets, paying a mere £20.4m in tax when their total UK profit was £3.8 Billion. Google is one of many international companies that  have been avoiding Tax in the UK and other nations by using a complex international tax structure to hide their earnings. 

The head of Google Europe, Matt Brittin had this to say. 

  

Today we announced that we are going to be paying more tax in the UK.     

The rules are changing internationally and the UK government is taking the lead in applying those rules so we’ll be changing what we are doing here. We want to ensure that we pay the right amount of tax.

  

Many other US based companies like Amazon, Facebook and Starbucks have faced a lot of criticism when it comes to international taxes and the HMRC plans to fully enforce proper UK taxation, making sure that these companies pay their “fair share” of taxes.

Hopefully the HMRC and their foreign counterparts will be able to continue enforcing proper taxes on large companies, as the money gained by such methods should help greatly when it comes to government loan repayments and prevent some austerity measures. 

 

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