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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Kiran Stacey

HMRC failing to scrutinise potential tax avoidance by big tech, watchdog warns

A composite image of Google and Amazon logos over the UK flag
The tax aims to stop the world’s biggest technology companies from avoiding tax by shifting profits overseas. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

Revenue officials are not paying enough attention to a new tax on big tech firms’ earnings in the UK and are therefore failing to scrutinise potential avoidance, parliament’s spending watchdog has warned.

While the digital services tax brought in a surprise bumper income in its first year, MPs on the cross-party public accounts committee says this suggests HM Revenue and Customs officials had failed to properly understand its impact.

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