Google denies that the US$185 million it paid to British tax authorities is a "sweetheart deal", which the UK Treasury hailed as a victory.
Business Day Live reports that Peter Barron, Google UK's head of communications, told BBC TV last Sunday that Google did not have any "sweetheart deal" with Her Majesty's Revenue and Collection (HMRC). Mr. Barron further added that Google dutifully follows whatever laws the Government enacts and which the HMRC enforces.
Google has been known across Europe to use innovative methods to keep its tax rates low. The HMRC was blamed for failing to secure more from Google after France and Italy are demanding higher settlements.
The UK agreement with Google was announced last January 23 which it agreed to pay taxes going back to 2005.
UK Business Secretary Sajid Javid feels there is a sense of unfairness felt by small businesses that have no access to tools used by big companies like Google to keep their taxes low. The business secretary said that work needs to be done to make sure Google pays the correct share.
Javid also said in a Bloomberg report that when people look at these issues they may see it as a very unglorious moment but it gets them talking about what the government is doing. He further added that the government has undertaken a huge effort to try and deal with just this kind of problem and the high visibility of the Google deal will help drive change in other companies' attitude to taxation.
The ensuing brouhaha over the tax deal has gotten Google in the crosshairs of The European Comission and could result in more taxes to be paid, the Guardian reports.
The European Commission, through the commissioner in charge of EU competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, said it could investigate the US$185 million alleged "sweetheart deal" Google made with British tax authorities and the UK Treasury.
