Tax Avoidance and Multinational Companies

James Cartlidge Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[John McDonnell]

I will come on to the recommendations for future action, which cover my right hon. Friend’s point.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[John McDonnell]

In due course; let me press on a little further.

As last week wore on, there was a growing sense of outrage at the Google sweetheart deal. Many felt betrayed by the Chancellor. We supported the Chancellor on the introduction of the diverted profits tax legislation to tackle firms using complex profit-shifting schemes to avoid tax. It was referred to as “the Google tax”. We learned last week that Google will not be paying a penny under that legislation.

We also supported the Chancellor in seeking international agreements on tackling tax avoidance, but we discovered at the weekend that Conservative MEPs had been directed by the Chancellor on at least six occasions to vote against the very tax avoidance measures being introduced by the EU that the Chancellor told us he was supposedly promoting.