Executives from Google and its auditor Ernst & Young will be called to testify in front of a British parliament committee on the company’s operations within the United Kingdom. The head of Britain’s Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge, told Reuters that she plans to summon Google to elaborate on earlier comments it made to the committee. Google had previously said that, in an effort to avoid additional taxes, it doesn’t make sales to U.K. customers from inside the country. Google instead employs “a couple of hundred” staff members at its Dublin offices who sell to U.K.-based clients.
A Reuters investigation found that the company’s statements may not have been truthful, however. Even Google’s corporate website advertises London-based sales positions for “negotiating deals,” closing “strategic and revenue deals” and achieving “quarterly sales quotas.”
Google’s Director for External Relations Peter Barron denied the allegations, claiming the company complies “with all the tax rules in the UK.”
