Tax has rocketed to the top of the news agenda. When Amazon, Google and Starbucks were pulled up in front of the Public Accounts Committee, many were stunned at how little corporation tax they paid (if at all) in a time of austerity and government cuts. How can a tax gap of £12 billion be justified, when a CEO can take home $101 million a year? There is a growing realization that maybe we aren't ‘all in this together’, and what are Google's 'Dutch sandwich' and a 'double Irish' anyway? In this 30,000-word ebook Richard Murphy, a highly respected economic commentator and blogger, explains how we came to this situation, its origins and development after the 2008 economic crisis, who the villains of the piece are, and why. But this ebook also seeks answers and Murphy offers concrete and practical solutions in the face of growing public awareness, which politicians and companies will ignore at their peril as taxpayers vote with their feet. Part of the Brain Shots series, the pre-eminent source for high quality, short-form non-fiction.