Google's tax deal with Government 'not a glorious moment', admits Sajid Javid

Updated

The tax settlement between Google and the Government "wasn't a glorious moment", the Business Secretary has admitted.

The Government came to an agreement with the internet giant which will see £130 million paid in back taxes covering the last decade.

And while George Osborne initially labelled the deal a "major success", Sajid Javid told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that he shares the feeling of many people that there is a sense of "injustice" with the deal.

The Business Secretary said: "It wasn't a glorious moment, when people look at these issues, but it is important, I think, to talk about also what the Government is doing."

Mr Javid was asked if he agrees it is unfair that a large corporation like Google can speak directly with the Government and HMRC about its tax affairs while small and medium businesses don't have that option available to them.

"I speak with thousands of companies, small and medium sized as well as of course large companies, and there is a sense of injustice with what they see," he said.

"They do look at this and they say 'look, I don't operate all these multiple jurisdictions around the world, I can't shift profits around, what about me, where's the level playing field?' and I share that sense and the sort of sense of unfairness that exists."

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