Microsoft avoids paying £100 million in British taxes after striking secret deal with HMRC

MICROSOFT has avoided paying up to £100million of British tax a year after striking a secret deal with HMRC.

The agreement works through the super-rich firm putting billions of pounds of UK sales in Ireland.

2

Corporation tax in the Emerald Isle is 7.5 per cent lower than in England, making the tech giant the mammoth saving.

The taxman approved the deal, which runs until 2017, among 140 unknown others to other huge companies.

It also agreed the amount the firm could pay its UK arm for marketing services in 2012.

related stories

Lady Shifty

Now Lady Green could be grilled by MPs over offshore family firms and tax affairs

LOSE lose?

Osborne threatens to force through ‘punishment’ Budget with £30bn tax hikes and cuts after Brexit

PLEASE HOLD

Taxman grilled as callers to HMRC helpline wait 5 MILLION hours to be put through

'I promise I'm alive'

Mum left on breadline after waiting six months for tax credits - as HMRC think she's DEAD

Commons Public Accounts Committee member, Richard Bacon MP, called for details of all the arrangements to be revealed.

He said: “The average person is getting sick and tired of this kind of thing.

“These are strategies which are not open to most ordinary people or even most ordinary companies.

“It is the suspicion of most informed people that companies like Google and Microsoft get away without paying their fair share.”

2

HMRC said no company paid a single penny less in tax because of advance pricing agreements.

Microsoft denied doing anything wrong and said it followed all rules and regulations to the letter.

A spokesman added: “Microsoft UK earns a commission similar to what a third party would receive for performing marketing service for Microsoft Ireland and pays tax on income earned in the UK.”

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.