British conservatives have shocked the business community by dealing with the fact that Google is dodging huge amounts of tax.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s policy so far has been to tax poor people as a way of earning cash, but this time it appears he has actually targeted tech companies and other international firms.
He is proposing a 25 per cent tax on profits on outfits that use complex structures to lower their U.K. tax bills.
“Some of the largest companies in the world, including those in the tech sector, use elaborate structures to avoid paying taxes. That is not fair to other British firms. It is not fair to British people either. Today we are putting a stop to it. My message is consistent and clear: low taxes, but low taxes that will be paid.”
The tax, dubbed a “Google tax” by the British press, is expected to raise more than $1.56 billion over five years, Mr. Osborne said.
It is still unclear exactly what will constitute taxable activity in the UK and how it might change the tax bill of companies like Google and Facebook. Representatives from several tech companies were not immediately available to comment.
Google and other companies have been targeted by France and other European governments for not paying enough taxes. The issue is complicated by the companies’ setup: They can have sales representatives in one country selling online services, like ads, that appear in others, while the company’s residence for taxation purposes might be elsewhere still.