Oxord residents have protested about a talk given by two speakers from Google at the Sheldonian Theatre.
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, and Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas discussed “their vision for the future” at the talk on Tuesday.
The talk was an event organised by the University’s Blavatnik School of Government.
A protest held outside the Sheldonian included a man alleging that Google avoids tax. A banner read, “Google pay your taxes.”
The protestor addressed the public walking past with a loudspeaker.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Cherwell, “Oxford University shouldn’t be accommodating such a villain.”
He added, “Google should pay tax. People paying welfare are blamed for the economic downturn, but it is corporate tax avoiders who are to blame.”
Eric Schmidt stated “First, corporation tax should be paid on a company’s profits, not its revenues… Second, politicians – not companies – set the rules… Third, given the intensity of the debate, not just in the UK but also in America and elsewhere, international tax law could almost certainly benefit from reform.”
At the time of going to press, the University had not responded to Cherwell’s request for a comment.
