UK lawmaker blasts Google exec on taxes
LONDON - A British parliamentary committee has grilled the head of Google (GOOGL) in Europe, sharply questioning whether the Internet giant had paid its fair share of taxes.
The hearing comes amid public anger over a tax settlement with U.K. authorities. Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Meg Hillier captured the mood when she accused Google's Matt Brittan of having "tin ears," to the complaints about the 130 million pound ($186 million) deal for back taxes in Britain.
Brittan insisted he did understand public anger, and he said Google had paid taxes at 20 percent like other companies.
But he invoked Hillier's fury when he said he didn't know his own pay package. She countered "Out there, taxpayers, our constituents, are very angry. They live in a different world clearly to the world you live in."