The move on taxation with Google is an important step forward to address legitimate public anger that larger corporations were not paying fair amounts of tax under the last Labour Government. Since the period covered by Google's settlement with HMRC, this Government has led the world by introducing a diverted profits tax to stop multinationals using contrived arrangements to shift profits outside of the UK. I am pleased the Government has also made more than 40 changes to tax law to close Labour's loopholes, and introduced a new general anti-abuse rule to deter abusive tax avoidance.
The Government is committed to tackling aggressive tax avoidance and evasion at all levels to ensure everyone pays the right tax at the right time. Avoidance (and evasion) damages the effectiveness of the tax system and imposes additional costs on all taxpayers. Thanks to the changes this Government has made big multinational corporations know they cannot carry on as they have done in the past, and must expect to pay more tax.