On 12 November 2012 MPs took evidence on taxation of multinational corporations.

Evidence was taken from:

• Matt Brittin, CEO, Google UK

• Troy Alstead, Starbucks Global Chief Financial Officer

• Andrew Cecil, Amazon Director of Public Policy.

Google, Starbucks and Amazon have all have been accused of paying little or no tax on their UK earnings.

Many global firms create corporate entities in low-tax jurisdictions for the purposes of paying tax.

For example, a firm may design a product or an app for a smartphone in the US, have it made in Asia and sell it in the UK. But the company - or a regional unit - may be legally incorporated in a fourth place with less onerous tax laws.

Most of the firms have said that they meet all their legal obligations on tax in the UK and around the world.