Watch moment Google boss claims he has no idea how much he gets paid
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/google-boss-blasted-living-another-7349815
The head of Google Europe Matt Brittin is accused of “living in a different world” after telling MPs he has no idea what he’s paid
Google’s fatcat boss was told he “lives in a different world” today after admitting he has no idea how much he gets paid.
Multi-millionaire Matt Brittin, president of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa, was unable to tell MPs the size of his own salary.
“It’s a salary, errr, I don’t have the figure,” the stammering Google chief said.
“I’ll provide the figure privately if it is relevant for the committee to understand my salary.”
Read more: Google tax hearing live: Updates as MPs grill tech firm’s bosses over £130m ‘sweetheart’ deal
Brittin is appearing before the Public Accounts Committee where he is being grilled about the ‘sweetheart’ deal that will see the tech giant pay just £130million in back taxes despite making sales of more than £4.6bn in the UK.
Asked by committee chair Meg Hillier MP what he was paid, Brittin replied: “I understand the anger, I’ll happily disclose that if it’s a relative matter for the committee”.
MPs erupted in scornful laughter to his comments.
Ms Hillier said he was living on a “different planet.”
“You don’t know what you get paid, Mr Brittin?
“Taxpayers out there are very angry. They live in a different world to what you live in, clearly.
“Perhaps you’ve got tin ears!” she said.
She added: “Don’t you feel a bit embarrassed by this?
“You don’t know how much you are paid. You are living on a different planet to most of our constituents.
“Out there, taxpayers, our constituents, are very angry, they live in a different world clearly to the world you live in, if you can’t even tell us what you are paid.
“It seems a bit of a PR disaster if you didn’t have the nous to realise in the same week that taxpayers were filing their tax returns, and sweating over a little bit of bank interest and getting it in on time, and you announce this as a good deal.”
Mr Brittin responded: “I understand the anger and understand that people when they see reported that we are paying 3% tax would be angry. But we’re not. We’re paying 20% tax.”
The £130 million figure was “the conclusion of a six-year rigorous, independent tax audit in which we are paying tax at 20% like every other UK company”, he said.
