Thursday newspaper round-up: Google tax, World Bank, Carillion fallout

The chief executive of Google has declared he is happy for his company to pay more tax, and called for the existing system to be reformed. Sundar Pichai told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the tax system needed to be reformed to address concerns that some companies were not paying their fair share. – Guardian

Statutory sick pay and government assistance for jobless and self-employed people in the UK have been found to breach international legal obligations. The amount of money available to those claiming statutory sick pay and employment support allowance is “manifestly inadequate”, according to the guardians of an international charter ratified by the UK in 1962. – Guardian

The World Bank’s chief economist Paul Romer has resigned from his role after less than two years in the job, according to a memo seen by The Telegraph. Mr Romer, who made his reputation in the 1980s with his study of economic growth and coined the phrase "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste", is returning to his position as university professor at New York University. – Telegraph

Facebook and Google could avoid government regulation by setting up an independent watchdog to oversee how they tackle fake news and illegal content, an influential think tank has said. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) suggested internet giants employ a new system of self-regulation, similar to that used in the advertising industry, as they face mounting criticism over how they police their sites. - Telegraph

Tens of thousands of businesses exposed to the collapse of Carillion face an even more uncertain future because they did not take out credit protection against its failure. Figures from the insurance industry suggest that not much more than £30 million in cover will be paid out to small companies claiming for non-payment of invoices after Carillion went bust last week. About 30,000 British businesses are reckoned to have been affected and are owed as much as £1 billion in total. – The Times

Angela Merkel has urged the world to fight the “poisonous” effect of populism and pressed for greater co-operation between countries to fight economic problems. The German chancellor said that she wanted a “great partnership” with Britain after Brexit, but emphasised that single market access required freedom of movement. “It is in their hands how close they want the partnership to be,” Mrs Merkel said.- The Times