Government accepts cross-party ammendment to finance bill for greater tax transparency

The government accepted an amendment to the finance bill on Monday, which will see the Treasury given the power to demand greater transparency from multinationals in the UK regarding their tax affairs.

The amendment, first proposed by Labour MP Caroline Flint and garnered cross-party backing from 60 MPs, requires companies in the UK to provide tax information with a country-by-country report, showing where they do business, how much revenue is generated and how much is paid in tax.

Flint presented the amendment in a private member's bill via the Ten Minute Rule in March, in a measure which allows backbench MPs to propose legislation.

The amendment is a seen as a victory for cross-party support as only a small number of private member bills are enacted, generally due to a lack of time as an MP only has 10 minutes to present.

The amendment comes after the European Commission ruled on 30 August, that technology giant Apple should pay €13bn in back taxes from 2005 to Ireland, in an alleged sweetheart deal with the country. Ireland and Apple said they will appeal.

Earlier this year the government made a deal with Google for the company to pay back taxes of £130m.

On becoming Prime Minister, Theresa May said she would crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance.