Google agrees to pay UK for taxes owed for decade

LONDON: A senior opposition lawmaker says Google's tax settlement with Britain is "derisory" and unfair to taxpayers.

John McDonnell, the Labour Party's economic spokesman, on Saturday called for the National Audit Office to investigate.

"It looks to me from all the independent analysis that this is relatively trivial in comparison with what should have been paid," said McDonnell

On Friday, Google announced an agreement to pay UK tax authorities about 130 million pounds ($185 million) for taxes owed for the last decade.

The accord disclosed Friday comes amid mounting criticism that Google and other major US companies have been scrimping on their tax bills with a variety of accounting maneuvers that have rankled governments around the world.