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HMRC stings Apple with £136 million bill for back taxes
Tech giants are often criticised for using complex tax loopholes to bank more of their profits than arguably they should, but occasionally the authorities do manage to find fault in their accounts. Following "an extensive audit" of Apple's books, HM Revenue & Customs scored itself an additional £136 million in back taxes, plus interest, from the company. The Financial Times spotted the payment in the financials of Apple Europe, a UK subsidiary that performs sales support, marketing and other duties for other Apple subsidiaries. According to the FT, HMRC reasoned that Apple Europe did not receive appropriate commission for sales leads from an Ireland-based subsidiary over a number of years up to 2015. Less commission, less taxable income... you get the idea.
Amazon and eBay accused of turning blind eye to VAT fraud
It's not uncommon to see a headline vilifying a well-known tech company for their incredibly low tax contributions despite turnovers in the billions. The EU is famously taking Apple to task, but more often than not, these clockwork bouts of outrage are frustrating to endure. If these "loopholes" are built into the system, it would seem energy could be better spent lobbying for tax reform instead of telling the same story ad infinitum. But this isn't one of those stories. In a new report, the UK government's Public Accounts Committee has made some pretty strong allegations against Amazon, eBay and other unnamed online marketplaces, accusing them of facilitating VAT fraud.
Google will pay the UK $185 million in back taxes
Like other tech giants, Google has been accused of using legal loopholes to avoid paying many of the taxes it owes... and it's now tackling some of those claims head-on. Its parent company Alphabet has reached a deal with the UK to pay £130 million (about $185 million) in back taxes going as far as 2005. The settlement reflects a new, more direct approach that bases its payout on revenue from UK-based advertisers. In short, its taxes will reflect the actual size of its UK business -- logical, isn't it?
UK plots crackdown on digital tax dodgers
The government probably has enough info on us to know what we had for breakfast this morning, but the taxman doesn't really care what fruit you liven up your porridge with. HMRC is interested in getting every last penny it's owed, however, especially money tied up in the UK's digitally driven, "hidden economy." HMRC estimates that it lost out on almost £6 billion in the 2012/13 tax year thanks to undeclared earnings from businesses operating on digital platforms like eBay and Airbnb. Thus, it's proposing changes to legislation that would extend its data-gathering powers to identify who's responsible for the shortfall, and where it's stashed.
UK government department swaps Microsoft for Google
For the longest time, the UK government built its systems around Microsoft software. That's still largely the case, but things have slowly changed as departments get to grips with the cloud, and companies like Google have planted their flag. The Register reports that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has decided it's time to make a clean break and has embraced the search giant's cloud services, becoming the first major UK government department to shift away from Microsoft.
