Companies could 'apportion profits within EU'

On both sides of the Atlantic, legislators have recently been accusing big companies of aggressively avoiding tax.

But while they have questions for Google and Apple - whose CEO, Tom Cook, defended the company's tax arrangements earlier this week - many are asking why legislators themselves are not taking measures to make such companies pay more tax.

Professor Prem Sikka, Professor of Accountancy at Essex University, told the Today programme: "The ideal position would be to get international agreement - there is no reason why a formula for apportioning profits within the EU countries cannot be developed."

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday 22 May 2013.