Dodgy government tax deals to be revisited

The "Independent" reports today that pressure on the government to review the “sweetheart” deals which were reached between the Inland Revenue (now part of HMRC) and large corporations has borne fruit. Goldman Sachs is not the only corporation coming under examination. Vodafone is also implicated. Credit goes to the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee, and to Private Eye magazine for keeping the matter in the public domain.

At a time when too many people on low incomes are being taxed and IR errors have led to demands for back payment, it is wrong for wealthy organisations to be seen to be getting away with paying less tax than they should. UK bondholders, too, may have started to see danger signals: part of Greece's debt problems stem from large-scale tax avoidance and evasion.