Smell the coffee?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Smell the coffee?

Twelve months ago, David Cameron was among the most outspoken critics of multinational tax avoidance. “Some forms of avoidance have become so aggressive that I think it is right to say these are ethical issues and it is time to call for more responsibility and for governments to act accordingly,” he told an audience at Davos last January. “This is an issue whose time has come … [Multinational companies should] wake up and smell the coffee.”

He is not expected to return to the topic this week. One source close to No 10 said Cameron believed Britain’s presidency of the G8 last year had scored successes elsewhere on tax policy – specifically in the battle against individuals using offshore havens for evasion – so there was no need to return to the subject of corporate tax, which is handled by the G20.

- US tech firms make eleventh-hour attempt to halt tax avoidance reforms, The Guardian, January 19, 2017.

About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.