Online retail giant Amazon has received a barrage of criticism over revelations that money received in Government grants last year exceeded corporation tax payments.
The retailer has filed accounts at Companies House that show it paid £2.4 million in corporation tax on annual sales of £4.3 billion. The tax paid was eclipsed by a cheque handed to the firm by the UK Government for £2.5 million in grants.
The company is domiciled in Luxembourg and therefore pays less tax. It argues that it pays all the taxes due in the countries where it operates despite its tax efficient financial arrangements. But Labour MP Nick Smith described the payment as 'pathetic'.
Amazon and other large US corporations including Google and Starbucks have found themselves at the centre of a tax avoidance row in the UK. Amazon's low tax liabilities have prompted calls from bricks and mortar firms including Sainsbury's, John Lewis and Dixons asking the Government to address the issue and create a 'level playing field'.
MPs yesterday questioned Google's European chief Matt Britten and accused him of employing 'devious, calculated and unethical' methods to reduce its tax liabilities.
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