Article Summary: Starbucks, Amazon and Google to Face UK Lawmakers Over Tax by Tom Bergin - Essay Example

It is evident that these companies exploit loopholes to avoid taxes even when Britain and Germany have announced their plans to get a fair share of taxes from them. The article then analyses the case of each of the companies separately. Starbucks’ share of contribution to UK taxes over 13 years was only 8.6 million even though the world's biggest coffee company recorded sales of 3.1 billion pounds during the period. The most shocking fact reported by Reuters is that the company has not paid any income tax in the nation during the past three years.

However, the company delegates hold that they always follow the tax rules correctly and are ready to pay their fair share of taxes. In the case of Google, even though the company had a sale of $4 billion in 2011 the tax paid by the company was only 3.4 million pounds and it has been identified that the company “avoids UK tax by channeling non-U.S. sales via an Irish unit” (Bergin). In the same way, the filings by Amazon also show that the company paid just less than 1 million pounds of tax the previous year even though it had sales worth $5.3-7.2 billion in the UK.

It is thus evident that the company also avoids taxes through unfair means. The author concludes the article by emphasizing the need for a new revenue-based tax to ensure that such international companies pay their fair share of taxes to the UK economy without fail. Works CitedBergin, Tom. Starbucks, Amazon and Google to face UK lawmakers over tax. Reuters Limited, 2012. Web. 13 November 2012.