U.K turns up the heat in Google tax investigation

Google on Thursday faced questions from British lawmakers regarding the company’s tax practices, Reuters reported. It has been alleged that Google may have misled parliament last year when it said it complied with U.K. tax law. The company had previously claimed that, in an effort to avoid additional taxes, it doesn’t make sales to U.K. customers from within the country. An investigation by Reuters discovered that this was not the case, however. Google’s Northern Europe boss Matt Brittin flip-flopped on the issue while being questioned, and said the U.K. team is selling but “not closing.” Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge noted that Google was abandoning its “don’t be evil” mantra and was being deliberately misleading.