Multinationals exploit loopholes and tax patience of governments

AS THE Government ratchets up the pressure on struggling families by introducing an array of new taxes, the question of whether multinational companies are paying their fair share is timely.

On Saturday, a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors vowed to tackle what Britain’s prime minister David Cameron has called “aggressive tax avoidance” schemes by international firms.

“There has been a problem in this debate in the past in that people have said: ‘Well, of course there is a difference between tax evasion, which is illegal and should be pursued by the full force of the law, and then there is tax avoidance, which is perfectly legal and OK’,” he said.