Powerful Google tax opponent will urge UK to drop hostility to radical EU change

Multinationals would file single European tax return under plan proposed by EU tax commissioner to stamp out aggressive avoidance

One of the most powerful opponents of Google's controversial tax structures, European tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici, is expected on Thursday to call on Britain and Ireland to drop their objections to radical tax reform across the EU.

Moscovici, who has previously advocated a Europe-wide "digital tax" on companies such as Google, now wants to tackle aggressive tax avoidance among multinationals by requiring them to file a single European tax return.