Google paid £36.4m tax in UK in 2016

US internet giant Google coughed up £36.4m in taxes in the UK last year, according to a statement from its parent company Alphabet.

Several large tech corporations have come under scrutiny for their tax practices in several different countries, most notably iPhone maker Apple, which was hit with an order to pay back €13bn in taxes to the Irish government following an investigation by the European Commission.

Google itself has already agreed to pay £130m in back taxes to the UK following discussions with tax authorities in the region, but many described the figure as lenient.

"As an international business, we pay the majority of our taxes in our home country, as well as all the taxes due in the UK. We have recently announced significant new investment in the UK, including new offices in Kings Cross for 7,000 staff.”

£25m of the company’s 2016 taxes has been paid already, but Google has said that further payments are expected in the coming months.

The government has plans to reduce how much tax corporations pay, from the level of 20% that they currently hand over, to around 17%.