On Friday, 22 January 2016, Google and the UK tax administration agreed a settlement according to which the Google will pay GBP 130m in back taxes for the past ten years and slightly higher taxes for the future, while allowing Google to continue routing £4.6bn of UK sales via an Irish company that pays no tax in the UK. The UK government was criticized  for allowing Google to pay too little in a £130m deal as Google has been allowed to get away with an effective rate of 2,77% compared with the corporation tax rate of 20%.The deal which follows a 2009 investigation into Google´s tax affairs has faced strong public criticism suggesting that it has not been in line with the recent OECD principles and amounts to another favourable tax treatment of a multinational. Is it fair that multinationals like Google are allowed to negotiate sweetheart deals with the taxman while smaller businesses and individuals play and pay by the rules?

Selected from from public newspapers (Guardian, Politico and CFE news)

By Ivan Fučík