Today, Reuters released two articles about Google and the company’s tax structure in the UK:

From 2006 to 2011, Google generated $18 billion in revenues from the UK and paid just $16 million in taxes. Google defends its low tax bills by saying it does not have a British tax presence, because its sales to the UK are made by staff in Ireland. A Reuters examination of Google’s activities raises questions about that. Our reporting reveals many employee roles located in Britain that actually target, negotiate and close sales of Google’s advertising products to its customers. Also ...

Dozens of journalists working for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism sorted through millions of leaked records that "lay bare the names behind covert companies and private trusts in the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands and other offshore hideaways." 

International Consortium of Investigative Journalism reports that key findings include: 

• Government officials and their families and associates in Azerbaijan, Russia, Canada, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Mongolia and other countries have embraced the use of covert companies and bank accounts.
• The mega-rich use complex offshore structures to own mansions, yachts, art masterpieces and other assets, gaining tax advantages and anonymity not ...

Center for Investigative Reporting
VA’s ability to quickly provide benefits plummets under Obama
“Internal VA documents, obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting and authenticated by the agency, reveal that delays newly returning veterans face before receiving disability compensation and other benefits are far longer than the agency has publicly acknowledged. The documents also offer insight into some of the reasons for those delays.”

The Houston Chronicle
Pasadena Superfund site's owner indicted, missing
“In reality, prosecutors said, he is a polluter responsible for a 17-acre disaster - hundreds of dumpsters and concrete tanks vaporizing hazardous chemicals into the air ...

Yahoo! Inc. has taken advantage of Dutch laws to quietly funnel millions of dollars to island subsidiaries, Bloomberg News reports, which has cut its worldwide tax bill. The computer maker Dell has used the law to avoid roughly $4 billion in income taxes since 2004. Bloomberg reports that the arrangements demonstrate how the Netherlands have become one of the most important tax havens for multinational companies, and that Dutch parliament is debating the fairness of the country's tax system.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wrong-Way River
“Biologists predict the number of unwanted organisms moving on the Chicago canal will only grow until the waterway is somehow plugged. And it is much more than a Great Lakes problem because biological pollution travels both directions on this invasive species superhighway.”

The Morning Call
Amazon warehouse workers fight for unemployment benefits
“Its relationship with Amazon has made Integrity Staffing Solutions the biggest temporary-employment firm in the Lehigh Valley and one of the fastest-growing agencies of its kind in the country. Part of its role is fighting to keep its workers from collecting unemployment ...

An examination of accounts filed by 25 Amazon units in six countries show how the company has avoided paying more tax in the United States, where it's based, according to a report from Reuters. Reuters writes that Amazon, in effect, used inter-company payments to form a tax shield behind which it has accumulated $2 billion. Last year, it was announced that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service was seeking $1.5 billion in back taxess, which Amazon said it would "vigorously contest."

In an ongoing series, The Washington Post's Debbie Cenziper and Nikita Stewart identified $2.6 billion in unexplained property tax reductions, made through secretive, back-room deals, for hundreds of influential developers in Washington, D.C. The third installment today found that the District's new chief appraiser had been dogged by similar allegations at his last job in Atlanta, where steep tax reductions were awarded to a mall and mansion owned by Lee Najjar, also known as “Big Poppa,” a well-known developer mentioned on the reality series, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

Today's story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com ...