According to a report by the think tank Taxwatch in 2018, Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Cisco, generated UK profits in 2017-18 of more than £6.6bn, but paid a combined tax bill of £191m (£49m for Google and £16m for Facebook) – as opposed to the £1bn they ought to have contributed.
A report published by two Dutch MEPs in September 2017 said Google, which declares its EU revenue in Ireland, paid just 0.36% to 0.82% in tax in the period in the EU. The report estimates the loss in tax revenue for EU countries of around €5 billion in that period. In the same period, Facebook’s tax revenue in the EU ranges from 0.03% to 0.10%.
Every cent of unpaid tax is money that other media, social protection systems and national pensions and welfare schemes are denied.
It’s time for tax justice!