A panel of UK lawmakers will next week grill representatives from Google Inc and its auditor, Ernst & Young, following a Reuters report that highlighted inconsistencies in Google’s statements about its UK activities.<\/p>\n
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said on its website that the representatives would testify on May 16.<\/p>\n
Google has attracted the ire of British lawmakers for the way it pays almost no income tax on billions of dollars of UK sales each year.<\/p>\n
At an earlier hearing in November, Google’s Northern Europe boss, Matt Brittin, said that all UK sales were conducted from Ireland and that no sales took place from Britain.<\/p>\n
At a PAC hearing in January, John Dixon, head of tax policy at Ernst & Young in London, told lawmakers his firm checked to ensure a tax client’s activities on the ground matched what was claimed in their accounts.<\/p>\n
Last week, the committee’s chairwoman, Margaret Hodge, said she planned to recall Google and Ernst & Young, after Reuters revealed that the Internet search giant had described its London offices on its website as a base for sales teams and advertised dozens of London-based sales vacancies.<\/p>\n
Google declined comment on the scheduled hearing but referred to its comments last week before it received a formal invitation, in which it denied that Brittin had misled the PAC in November and said it would be happy to testify to the committee again to explain its position.<\/p>\n
Ernst & Young said it welcomed the opportunity to help the committee’s inquiry.<\/p>\n
“We support improving certainty and transparency in the global tax system and compliance with it,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Last week a spokeswoman said the auditor and tax adviser stood by Dixon’s testimony and said it followed all audit rules.<\/p>\n
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