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Google to face grilling by UK MPs on tax

The UK's opposition has called a back-tax arrangement between Google and the UK tax authority a "cosy deal" and will seek to grill the company.

people walk past a Google sign at the company's headquarters
The UK's opposition has described a back-tax deal between Google and the UK tax authority as cosy. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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A UK parliamentary committee will invite Google to testify about a back tax deal under which it will pay STG130 million ($A200.46 million) to settle claims covering a 10-year period - an amount the opposition Labour party has described as derisory.

Meg Hillier, the Labour party chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, tweeted at the weekend she would call Google, now part of holding company Alphabet Inc, and the UK tax authority to explain the "cosy deal".

Google and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs were not immediately available for comment.

Corporate tax avoidance has prompted anger in recent years among citizens who question whether the burden of paying to combat the financial crisis was evenly shared.

A study conducted by accountants PricewaterhouseCooper for the 100 Group, a lobby body representing around 100 of the biggest UK companies, showed their combined corporation tax bill was half 2010 levels in 2015, despite rising profits.

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Google's tax deal brings its total UK tax bill over the period to around STG200 million.

Over the period, its around STG24 billion in UK revenues would have generated a tax bill of almost STG2 billion, if the UK unit reported taxable profits in line with group margins of around 30 per cent, according to Reuters calculations based on Google filings.

Google's tax bill is reduced because its European profits are channelled to Bermuda.


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