No one will be surprised to learn Google pays a decent wage.
The average wage of Google employees in the UK has been revealed.
Google UK staff – of whom there are thousands – earned an average salary of £160,000 in 2015. Note that this figure may be skewed by higher-earning executives.
Google is also facing criticism over allegations that the company receives special treatment from the UK government.
Part of Google’s argument as to why it pays a low amount of tax in the UK is that the company’s British operations are merely a supporting role.
However, Margaret Hodge, former Public Accounts committee head, said the salary suggests Google’s UK business “is not a back office support operation. These are clearly people who are paid a lot because they add value – selling advertising, closing deals and developing new products.”
She’s not wrong either; much of Google’s Android development takes place in humble Blighty.
Related: Google Nexus 6P review
The Independent reports that Google could owe as much as £700 million in UK taxes.
“Britain was a key player in generating sales for the tech firm’s global operations,” said Barney Jones, formerly employed in Google’s UK sales department, as quoted in the Independent report.
Jones continued: “They do a lot of high-value sales, marketing and engineering – all out of London. I find it utterly baffling that HMRC accepts that these people do almost nothing worthwhile.”
Did you guess Google’s average salary correctly? Let us know in the comments!
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.