In wake of Covid-19 it’s time to force the tech giants’ hands on tax

They’ve been making donations – $800m in the case of Google – but a report by TaxWatch says this amounts to a mere fraction of the money salted away in tax havens, says James Moore

Google and other tech firms have been making donations to aid in the fight against the coronavirus (AFP)

At a time when tech companies are attempting to show what good corporate citizens they are, TaxWatch UK has turned a welcome spotlight on the corporation tax they pay, or rather, the lack of it.

The investigative think tank, founded and part funded by Julian Richer, of Richer Sounds fame, counted $1.2bn (£950m) in donations made by eight large companies over the two weeks to 8 April, either by direct cash grants or through the offer of free services.

They range range from an $800m package announced by Google to the free use of software for coronavirus researchers made available by Nvidia.