Google Confused About UK Tax Row
July 18, 2013
Google is puzzled, they say. BBC News reports, “Google’s Eric Schmidt ‘perplexed’ Over U.K. Tax Debate.” It seems British officials feel the company is not pulling its weight. The article notes CEO Eric Schmidt’s response on the issue:
“Mr. Schmidt said it was up to the government to change its tax system if it wanted companies to pay more taxes. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week, he said: ‘What we are doing is legal. I’m rather perplexed by this debate, which has been going in the U.K. for some time, because I view taxes as not optional. I view that you should pay the taxes that are legally required. It’s not a debate. You pay the taxes.
“‘If the British system changes the tax laws, then we will comply. If the taxes go up, we will pay more, if they go down, we will pay less. That is a political decision for the democracy that is the United Kingdom.”
That seems a reasonable stance, as we have noted before. U.K. officials have a different perspective, though. The article tells us that Margaret Hodge, head of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, is pressing to create a committee that would oversee tax arrangements for major companies. There you go—if you don’t like the rules, don’t complain about those who find the loopholes; change the rules. Simple enough.
Cynthia Murrell, July 18, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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