Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/21/google_tax/
Google: Do no evil, pay no tax
Well, not much, anyway
Posted in Financial News, 21st December 2009 11:10 GMT
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Google has been accused of swerving UK tax on the £1.6bn it makes in Britain.
To be fair, Google does pay some tax - about £140,000 on interest on cash in the bank held here. But its offshore status means it, quite legally, avoids paying £450m in corporation tax.
Lib Dem deputy leader Vince Cable accused Google of not playing fair. He said the firm was ducking its social responsibilities, especially in a time of recession.
The search giant employs 770 people in the UK and makes 13 per cent of its revenues here, the Sunday Times reports. [1]
UK revenues are funnelled through Google's European headquarters in Dublin, where corporation tax is lower. The company has faced down critics on this issue in the past, [2] and its close links with the Tory Party mean a change of government is unlikely to change its tax status.
The paper also found Google UK makes limited charitable donations, for a company which makes so much of its humanitarian values.
The firm gave £5,662 to charity last year. Its average UK worker earned over £90,000 and its best-paid director trousered £1.1m. ®