Hi Terence, if we don't tax companies or individuals then where will governments get the money to pay for roads, schools, hospitals and all the other services that we take for granted in Europe? I agree that it would be nice if we only paid tax on profits as individuals but it would be subject to wholesale abuse since civil servants, being human, will draft laws that have loopholes and people will come up with ingenious ways to get around the laws anyway. Very rich people already come up with ways to 'incorporate' their assets and avoid taxes. My guess is most people would avoid taxes if there was a legal way around it. This is exactly what Google and Amazon are doing. Seems rational to me. Equally it seems sensible that governments would try to close these loopholes by changing the law and pursuing these companies in court. Which is what they are doing. What irks me is the populist appeals that these companies are not being 'honest' and should pay their 'fair share'. And as for fairness, well, Life is not Fair. It's not nice but it is a fact of life. These companies are paying as much as they are legally obliged to. They may be sailing close to the wind in some cases and if they overdo it and break the law they will be forced to pay. And of course governments, being close to omnipotent can sometimes retrospectively change the law e.g. the Indian government and Vodafone.