Google paid only £6m in UK tax
By Stewart Mitchell
Posted on 8 Aug 2012 at 09:42
Google is set to pay only £6.09 million in UK taxes despite raking in nearly £400m in revenue from its British operations.
The search giant, which employs 1,300 staff in the UK, angered MPs last year when it paid £935,000 tax on £2.39bn revenue, and is likely to face fresh criticism over this year's contributions.
The figures were initially reported by the The Telegraph as profit in the billions of pounds, but Google has corrected those figures, saying it will pay £6.09m in taxes this year on £395m in revenue.
The figure contrasts with its end-of year filing to the SEC, which said Google earned $4bn in revenues in the UK "based on the billing addresses of our customers". That differential isn't new: last year, an Evening Standard report showed Google had made more than £6bn in the UK, but claimed revenue of £526m and was taxed £8.2m.
Google promised more details about this year's taxes would follow in a filing due to be released "imminently".
Google said: "We comply with all the tax rules in the UK. We make a big contribution to the UK economy by employing over a thousand people, helping hundreds of thousands of businesses to grow online and investing millions supporting new tech businesses in East London."
I am all for the silicon roundabout, but it should not be a magic roundabout, in which going around it twice means not paying any tax or going round it three times, like Google, means turning a massive profit into a tax loss
Number crunching
A look at the company's overseas income and tax payments, in its full-year results filed at the beginning of the year, show that in 2011 it made profits of $4.7bn in the US, with $7.6bn coming from overseas operations. The company made provisions for $1.7bn in US federal tax, $274m for state taxes in the US, and $248m for its foreign income tax.
In its declaration of revenues, it lists three revenue streams: the US at $17bn, the UK at $4bn and the rest of the world with $16bn.
However, the company's two declared major tax jurisdictions are the US and Ireland, where the tax rate is a lowly 12.5% compared to 25% in the UK and 35% in the US. The company said "substantially all of the income from foreign operations was earned by an Irish subsidiary".
Previous complaints
In a speech made at last year's Edinburgh Television Festival, executive chairman Eric Schmidt blamed the low payments squarely on the UK tax system. "We could pay more tax but we would have to do so voluntarily. It's called paying the legally minimum amount of tax required," he said.
"There are lots of benefits to [being in Britain]. It's very good for us, but to go back to shareholders and say 'We looked at 200 countries but felt sorry for those British people so we want to [pay them more]' - there is probably some law against doing that."
Last year, Google faced criticism from MPs over the way it used Ireland as its main international hub, at least in part because the tax rates there are significantly lower.
"Google took about £2.15 billion in revenue from the UK in 2010, making an estimated £700 million profit, yet it did not pay any tax. In fact, it declared a loss of £22 million," said Charlie Elphicke, MP for Dover, in a parliamentary statement after the budget. "I am all for the silicon roundabout, but it should not be a magic roundabout, in which going around it twice means not paying any tax or going round it three times, like Google, means turning a massive profit into a tax loss."
This story was updated from the original figures after Google confirmed that The Telegraph posted incorrect numbers.
Eric Schmidt
This is the case which lead to Eric Schmidt's invovlement into a series of fascism crimes:
One photo would tell it all, there are seven photo evidence which documented how cruel this irrational lady was when she assaulted me on Stanford campus in 2004
[http://tysurl DOT com/mssgYn ]
[Stanford Police Case Number: IR #04-111-0335;Victim: Peter Cao; Criminal Suspect: Gabriele Scheler]
Such simple but serious campus atrocity crime was covered up by certain malicious officers. How could this happen? Who's in charge of Gabriele Scheler's case? On what basis would certain officers rule against me in favor of this criminal suspect Gabriele Scheler in light of such clear evidence of Gabriele Scheler's atrocity on my body?
The problem with Gabriele Scheler's case is that there are certain malicious officers who chose to stand on this criminal suspect Gabriele Scheler's side and collateralled with Scheler to conspire victims(e.g. Stanford, May Zhou, me) in order to cover up their crimes while applying retaliation on victims, and most of all, such malicious officers do not want to see this case from being clarified
By PeterCao on 8 Aug 2012 
Time to change the rules?
A high rate of corporation tax combined with EU membership means we get less tax revenue than if the rate were lower. Gordon got us into this situation, but can George get us out?
By tirons1 on 8 Aug 2012
Eric Schmidt in Fascism Crime
Eric Schmidt mentioned here had lost his credibility when he got invovled into fascism crimes which had endangered human lives
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There is actually a war between fascism and anti-fascism, at this stage, fascism still prevails in our lives, Eric Schmidt, Sebastian Thrun and Gabriele Scheler are just front figures we could see in this fascism circle, there is a whole pack of fascists behind them
Eric, as we can see, starting from Gabriele Scheler's atrocity case on Stanford campus back in 2004, many people, including Gabriele Scheler, Sebastian Thrun, you Eric Schmidt, and also your collegue in China Kaifu Lee, had made contributions to such fascism crimes which had cost human life of Stanford student May Zhou and crimes which had retaliated on victims and almost cost life of the victim as I am
... ... and someone who had provided legal coverage for your fascism crimes, including a powerful officer from Santa Clara DA Office, namely ZZZ (and after ZZZ, another officer YYY), and the officer VVV who's in charge of Gabriele Scheler's case and who had further collateralled with your side(suspect Eric Schmidt, Sebastian Thrun and Gabriele Scheler's side) to conspire and curse victims( Stanford, May Zhou, me) in every possible way since 2006 till today; and maybe include the officer RRR who insist on May Zhou's death as a suicide or accident, even though I had clearly pointed out who's involved in May Zhou's murder case ...
... ... and someone who could provide political support for your fascism crimes, including top politician from the country of Germany whom we all know, and maybe include a retired top politician from UK as well, etc. and more and more to find out later ...
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I believe, though some names missed out, all names mentioned in the above comment are part of this fascism circle
By PeterCao on 8 Aug 2012
Eric Schmidt in Fascism Crime
Eric Schmidt mentioned here had lost his credibility when he got invovled into fascism crimes which had endangered human lives
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
There is actually a war between fascism and anti-fascism, at this stage, fascism still prevails in our lives, Eric Schmidt, Sebastian Thrun and Gabriele Scheler are just front figures we could see in this fascism circle, there is a whole pack of fascists behind them
Eric, as we can see, starting from Gabriele Scheler's atrocity case on Stanford campus back in 2004, many people, including Gabriele Scheler, Sebastian Thrun, you Eric Schmidt, and also your collegue in China Kaifu Lee, had made contributions to such fascism crimes which had cost human life of Stanford student May Zhou and crimes which had retaliated on victims and almost cost life of the victim as I am
... ... and someone who had provided legal coverage for your fascism crimes, including a powerful officer from Santa Clara DA Office, namely ZZZ (and after ZZZ, another officer YYY), and the officer VVV who's in charge of Gabriele Scheler's case and who had further collateralled with your side(suspect Eric Schmidt, Sebastian Thrun and Gabriele Scheler's side) to conspire and curse victims( Stanford, May Zhou, me) in every possible way since 2006 till today; and maybe include the officer RRR who insist on May Zhou's death as a suicide or accident, even though I had clearly pointed out who's involved in May Zhou's murder case ...
... ... and someone who could provide political support for your fascism crimes, including top politician from the country of Germany whom we all know, and maybe include a retired top politician from UK as well, etc. and more and more to find out later ...
--------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
I believe, though some names missed out, all names mentioned in the above comment are part of this fascism circle
By PeterCao on 8 Aug 2012
Eric Schmidt in Fascism Crime
Eric Schmidt mentioned here had lost his credibility when he got invovled into fascism crimes which had endangered human lives
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
There is actually a war between fascism and anti-fascism, at this stage, fascism still prevails in our lives, Eric Schmidt, Sebastian Thrun and Gabriele Scheler are just front figures we could see in this fascism circle, there is a whole pack of fascists behind them
Eric, as we can see, starting from Gabriele Scheler's atrocity case on Stanford campus back in 2004, many people, including Gabriele Scheler, Sebastian Thrun, you Eric Schmidt, and also your collegue in China Kaifu Lee, had made contributions to such fascism crimes which had cost human life of Stanford student May Zhou and crimes which had retaliated on victims and almost cost life of the victim as I am
... ... and someone who had provided legal coverage for your fascism crimes, including a powerful officer from Santa Clara DA Office, namely ZZZ (and after ZZZ, another officer YYY), and the officer VVV who's in charge of Gabriele Scheler's case and who had further collateralled with your side(suspect Eric Schmidt, Sebastian Thrun and Gabriele Scheler's side) to conspire and curse victims( Stanford, May Zhou, me) in every possible way since 2006 till today; and maybe include the officer RRR who insist on May Zhou's death as a suicide or accident, even though I had clearly pointed out who's involved in May Zhou's murder case ...
By PeterCao on 8 Aug 2012
Incredible
This is almost like Ireland taking a slice of UK VAT, having done nothing to earn it.
The EU has to change its tax rules, and if they won't do it as a union then the UK has to do it unilaterally. I'm sure the rest of the bankrupt continental nations will quickly follow suit.
If a corporation sets up an off-shore subsidiary in a low-tax EU nation where they don't have a substantial business presence, then they shouldn't be able to use this as their primary tax domicile.
This would negate a lot of the shenanigans that go on, moving revenue and profit around different shell companies with Google, Amazon, Vodafone and Virgin being the higher profile beneficiaries on the corporate side and Ireland and Luxembourg being the major beneficiaries on the exchequer side.
By Phoomeister on 9 Aug 2012
Ireland's Tax Rate
This is why so many large companies build operations within Ireland to use their low tax rate. Google are not the only ones using this "opportunity".
By Peza1 on 9 Aug 2012
Eric Schmidt
What the hell has this got to do with the Subject written about above.?
By curiousclive on 9 Aug 2012
Who's surprised?
What Google do is perfectly 'legal'.
For those of us who have not been following world events since, say, 1901, we now live in the age of Transnational Capital.
This means that National Governments no-longer have any real influence in or control over the activities of huge organisations like Google, or Apple, or HSBC, or....
These organisations will organise their affairs so that profits are 'earned' where they are taxed least, or not earned at all. Businesses will be 'moved' to low-tax environments. Of course the principals\owners of these businesses tend to prefer LIVING in relatively higher-taxed nations: where the taxes pay for the services that create stable, peaceful societies.
This doesn't only apply to the financial side of business. So-called 'manufacturing' companies off-shore their operations to countries devoid of regulation and riddled with corruption: boosting profits enormously. You won't find Mr Ive, or Tim Cook queuing-up to emigrate to China, becuase that very lack of regulation leads to a potentially unstable society.
The corruption makes even the super-rich and powerful vulnerable. Just look at Bo Xilai or his wife Gu Kailai.
So the likes of Google play the system and as we have seen with the Banks, governments can't do a thing to stop them.
By wittgenfrog on 10 Aug 2012
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