The tech giant’s tiny tax payment shows how feeble governments bear become in the face of corporate might. Only global action can tame the beast
You can picture the assembly. George Osborne in his suite at Davos,surrounded by aides and room service debris, debating how to spin the Google tax deal. There’d bear been the usual talk of “framing” the issue, or the need to be on “the front foot”. But I suspect the clinching argument would bear been the one lifted from the standard political practitioners’ playbook: “Declare victory and stagger on.”Of course the chancellor could bear grudgingly described Google coughing up £130m for 10 years’ worth of taxes – at an estimated rate of 3% – as no more than a necessary first step. But where’s the kudos in that? Surely better to hail it as a great triumph and hope that no one looks too closely at the figures.
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Source: theguardian.com