British watchdogs chastise Google for ‘brazen’ tax dodge

A watchdog group in Britain is accusing Internet giant Google of dodging tax law and failing to pay required revenues, and it’s demanding Prime Minister David Cameron take immediate action.

The Public Accounts Committee said in a report that Google has used “brazen” techniques to avoid paying its fair share of taxes, The Independent reported. Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs should “fully investigate” Google for its “highly contrived” tax tactics that have led to a multibillion dollar dodge, The Independent reported.

Google said that the committee members just don’t understand how tax laws work and that the company hasn’t broken any rules. Still, the group called for Mr. Cameron to intervene.

“Google brazenly argued before this committee that its tax arrangements in the UK are defensible and lawful,” said Margaret Hodge, chair of the committee, in The Independent. “[But they have] no purpose other than to enable the company to avoid UK corporations tax. Google’s reputation has been damaged. … That damage will not be repaired until the company arranges to pay its fair share of tax in the country where it earns the profits from the business it conducts.”

She also said Mr. Cameron should use his leadership role in the Group of Eight industrialized countries to influence a crackdown on tax violators, The Independent reported.