Letter: East-West divide

THE Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore, might not be minded to devolve corporation tax to make Scotland more competitive (your report, 22 July).

However, they should be reminded that only last week it was revealed that Google's UK subsidiary paid only 1.2 million in corporation taxes on sales of 2.15 billion last year.

Using a technique known as the "Double Irish", Google was able to cut its tax bills massively, by channelling the bulk of its profits through the Republic of Ireland.

This is on top of the announcement that the UK will reduce interest rates on the loan to Ireland to assist its recovery.

It would appear that Mr Cameron's new-found strategic trading partner is being treated with more respect than Scotland, which is continuing to be run as a branch economy of the South-east.

Michael N Crosby

Muiravonside

By Linlithgow