Britain's Conservatives vow to crack down on tax-avoiding tech firms
David Cameron's party woos voters with pledge to scrap inheritance tax
Britain's Conservative Party has announced plans to clamp down on technology companies which try to avoid paying tax into Britain's public coffers.
The party's final conference before what is expected to be a closely fought election opened on Sunday under the shadow of a defection to the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party and the resignation of minister Brooks Newmark in a sex scandal.
Yesterday, in a bid to claw back money for the public purse, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced plans to stop companies using loopholes in the law to avoid paying tax.
He said: "Some technology companies go to extraordinary lengths to pay little or no tax here. If you abuse our tax system, you abuse the trust of the British people. And my message to those companies is clear: we will put a stop to it."
Osborne did not mention any companies by name in his speech, which focused on the importance of bringing down Britain's budget deficit and promoting his stewardship of the economy as May's election nears.
Corporate tax avoidance has become a hot political topic following critical media coverage and parliamentary investigations into the arrangements many big firms use to reduce tax bills.