Starbucks roasted over UK tax

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Politicians quizzed executives of Starbucks, Amazon, and Google on Monday about how they have managed to pay only small amounts of tax in Britain while racking up billions of dollars worth of sales.

The Public Accounts Committee, which is charged with monitoring government financial affairs, invited the companies to give evidence amid mounting public and political concern about tax avoidance by big international companies.

Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead explained the company's tax payments in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and Andrew Cecil, Brussels-based Director of Public Policy for Amazon talked about the online retailer's pan-European business.