Court hears HMRC struck Goldman deal to save face
Source: Yahoo / Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - The HMRC approved a controversial deal with Goldman Sachs partly to avoid the embarrassment of the U.S. bank pulling out of a new tax framework, a court heard on Thursday.
The challenge by activist group UK Uncut Legal Action over a deal worth up to 20 million pounds to the U.S. bank, stems from public anger in Britain about how big firms succeed in paying less tax than many ordinary people struggling to cope with a stagnating economy and government spending cuts.
The risk to Goldman Sachs is further damage to its image in Britain after a public outcry in January caused it to scrap plans to delay paying bankers' bonuses to make the most of an income tax cut for high earners.
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The case concerns a settlement reached in 2010 between Goldman Sachs and the tax authority (HMRC), to end a long-running dispute over a now-banned tax avoidance scheme involving the payment of bonuses to UK staff via an offshore tax haven.
Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/court-hears-hmrc-struck-goldman-deal-save-face-121706298.html#r4NJ1AF
