Corporate welfare costs taxpayer £85 billion per year

Aditya Chakrabortty of The Guardian reports on the huge state subsidies paid out to businesses in the context of consistent attacks on social welfare.

Research by Kevin Farnsworth of York University reveals that adding up the subsidies and grants paid directly to businesses, the corporate tax benefits, the cheap credit , the insurance schemes run by the government to protect exporters, the marketing for British business laid on by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the public procurement from the private sector totals around £85 billion. 

Some companies, such as Amazon, receive more in government grants than they pay in tax.