We pay £6m tax on £2.6bn UK profits, but that's OK because we help start-ups: Google

From the Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/we-pay-6m-tax-on-26bn-uk-profits-but-thats-ok-because-we-help-startups-google-boss-eric-schmidt-under-fire-over-comments-on-corporate-tax-8582605.html

Senior MPs called on David Cameron to consider stripping the boss of Google from his role as a government adviser tonight after he suggested that his company’s contribution to the British economy was more important than paying its fair share of tax.

Politicians from all three parties rounded on Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, after he defended its use of loopholes to minimise its UK tax bill. He insisted that Google would comply only with the letter of the law – despite paying only £6m of taxes on £2.6bn of revenue generated in the  UK in 2011. Google uses anomalies in international law to move profits into low-tax jurisdictions even if they have been generated by business carried out in Britain. Chancellor George Osborne has made tackling the practice a priority for Britain’s chairmanship of the G8.

But in an interview with the BBC, Mr Schmidt defended his company’s practice, suggesting that its contribution to the UK economy was more important than the tax it paid to the Exchequer. “We are investing heavily in Britain,” he said. “We power literally billions of pounds of start-ups through advertising networks and so forth, and we’re a key part of the electronic commerce expansion of Britain, which is driving a lot of economic growth for the country. So from our perspective, I think, you have to look at it in a totality.

“The people we employ in Britain are certainly paying British taxes, and more importantly, they’re British citizens and they’re driving a lot of GDP. I think the most important thing to say about our taxes is that we fully comply with the law, and well, obviously, should the law change we’ll comply with that as well.”

His comments were condemned by MPs, who pointed out that much of the investment in broadband internet infrastructure that had allowed Google to grow had been paid for by taxpayers.

Margaret Hodge, the chairman of the powerful Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which carried out an investigation into the tax practices of multinational companies, said the Government should consider whether Mr Schmidt was an appropriate person to remain on its Business Advisory Group if Google maintained its tax position. “I think we should be careful who we talk to, and I think if people want to have the voice of Government, they have a responsibility to pay their fair share,” she said.

A government source also questioned Mr Schmidt’s position, claiming Google was “not really investing very much in Britain” and that the company had a “disproportionate influence” on Mr Cameron. “It’s a bit like The Wizard of Oz,” the source said. “From the outside, they appear terribly important and powerful but, when you look closely at what they are actually investing in Britain, it is pretty insubstantial.”

France's President Hollande: Eradicate tax havens

From - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22094194

French President Francois Hollande has called for "eradication" of the world's tax havens and told French banks they must declare all of their subsidiaries.

He was speaking after presenting a draft law aimed at "moralising" French public life - a response to the tax scandal that has shaken his presidency.

France's ex-Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac has been charged with fraud over a secret Swiss bank account.

Mr Hollande said a new central agency would fight fraud and corruption.

Earlier the French Socialist government set a deadline of 15 April for ministers to declare their assets, as part of the new transparency drive.

Mr Cahuzac admitted last week that he had hidden about 600,000 euros (£509,000; $770,000) in a Swiss bank account, causing shock in France. He has now been expelled from the Socialist Party for lying about his financial affairs.

Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Hollande said "tax havens must be eradicated in Europe and worldwide".

"I won't hesitate to consider as a tax haven any country that refuses to co-operate fully with France."

He said French banks "will have to publish every year the full list of their subsidiaries in the world, country by country". They will also have to explain their business, he said.

"In other words it won't be possible for a bank to hide transactions carried out in a tax haven."

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Will work if only other major countries do the same.  Will they?

Horsemeat scandal: Dutch uncover large-scale meat fraud

From - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22098763

Some 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two Dutch trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.

The meat is being recalled where possible, the Dutch authorities say.

There was no evidence that the meat was a threat to human health, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said.

In total, 132 companies in the Netherlands and some 370 more around Europe are affected by the discovery.

The suspect meat was supplied by Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.

The two companies are owned by one man who has already previously been investigated by food safety officials, the BBC's Matthew Price reports.

The latest find was made as part of EU-wide tests to trace horse DNA in processed beef foods and to detect a veterinary drug used on horses.

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Are there no honest people left in the world?

Small, micro firms in China are hungry for long-term loans

From - http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/07/content_16379110.htm

China's small and micro enterprises are still struggling with lackluster business, and most badly need long-term rather than short-term loans, said a report based on a survey released on Saturday at the Boao Forum for Asia.

Of the 1,000 small and micro enterprises surveyed across China, 56.7 percent said their order numbers declined or stayed flat last year compared with 2011, and 57.7 percent said profit dropped or kept flat in 2012. In addition, 49.9 percent complained about an unstable workforce.

One-third of SMEs need medium- and long-term loans to upgrade their equipment or invest in new products, the survey found, yet 63.3 percent of loans they got were short-term, less than a year.

Zhang Xuyang, general manager of the retail department of China Everbright Bank, is interviewed about the "Report on Small and Micro Business Financing Development". [Huang Yiming / China Daily]

"This stands in conflict with the fact that driven by fiercer competition, 39.3 percent of SME shave considered improving their product quality, 43.9 percent of SMEs have considered extending their product chain and 27.7 percent have considered upgrading their technology,"said Ba Shusong, a banking expert with the Development Research Center under the State Council, who led the research.

A revelation of the report is that though 66.7 percent of SMEs regard bank loans as a primary financing measure, 62.1 percent of them do not now have them.

Yao Wang, executive president of the Research Institute of the Boao Forum for Asia, said SMEs have little expectation of getting bank loans.

"The survey showed most SMEs don't have bank loans. They don't expect to get a loan from big banks. This is pathetic," Yao said.

In consequence, SMEs sought financing from family members and friends - 24.3 percent of micro enterprises and 7.5 percent of small enterprises. They are much less aware of the multiple new financing methods: 38.8 percent of SMEs, for example, do not know about intangible assets mortgages.

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So it's not only British banks who are shy of lending to SMEs!

British police make £20 million from personal injury claims

From - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9964617/Police-make-20-million-from-personal-injury-claims.html

The officers are using “ambulance chasing” lawyers to sue over accidents which happen whilst they are on duty – including falls and animal attacks.

There is even a hotline run by the Police Federation which is encouraging the practice. A lot of the £42million paid out in the last two years has been taxpayer funded.

The revelations come as public anger grows over the case of PC Kelly Jones, who is seeking damages from petrol station owner Steve Jones after reportedly tripping on a curb whilst attending a suspected break-in.

Mr Jones and the officer were checking the outside of the building after an alarm had gone off, when PC Jones is alleged to have fallen and injured herself.

Mr Jones has now received a letter from her solicitor claiming he is at fault after she suffered an injury to her leg and wrist and attended hospital, although she had been well enough to continue searching.

Mr Jones, 50, said he was "dismayed" to have received the letter seven months after the incident on August 25 last year.

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Now that the 'cat's out of the bag', the British fire fighters and ambulance crew and maybe lots of others willbe  making similar claims - if they haven't done so already.