British cabinet minister Patrick McLoughlin is the latest politician to join the chorus of concern over Google's controversial tax payments agreement with the UK tax authorities.
ADVERTISEMENTPressure is building on Google over its tax payments with a British cabinet minister Patrick McLoughlin joining the chorus of concern.
“The truth is it’s a move in the right direction. There is more for them to pay and I want them to pay more in future,” McLoughlin, who is the UK’s Transport Secretary said on a BBC discussion programme.
He spoke as his boss Prime Minister David Cameron was in Brussels, where the European Commission is considering whether to investigate a controversial agreement reached between the internet company and the UK tax authorities.
Defending that settlement Cameron also said he’d be “very happy” for the competition commissioner to look into it.
The issue of whether the deal breaks EU state aid rules has been raised by Stewart Hosie, deputy leader of the Scottish National Party, in a letter to the EU’s antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The British Labour party’s finance spokesman has also expressed concerns that the 130 million pounds (170 million euros) Google is set to pay under the deal to clear 10 years of underpaid tax is too little.
This all comes as European tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici has pledged to make 2016 “the year of tax reform”.
Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands are the countries most opposed to his plans.
