Justin King: 'tax is a moral issue' for British companies He added: "The vast majority of individuals in this country don't get to elect where they pay their tax but some corporations do. I have a very simply view on it. A corporation should be prepared to stand up and say what tax it pays and why it chooses where to pay it, because if we're doing nothing wrong, which is usually the thing I hear asserted, then we should have no problem at all laying it bare to public scrutiny. Mr King, who argued that there was a wider "crisis of trust" in British businesses, was backed by four British bosses. When put on the spot, Sam Laidlaw, chief executive of Centrica, Sir Dick Olver, chairman of BAE Systems, and Lord Hall, director general of the BBC, agreed that tax was a "moral issue." Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of RBS, argued that the crisis of trust was "not universal" and companies like Apple commanded a high degree of respect by consumers. But he also agreed that consumers had "decided that tax was a moral issue." Mr Laidlaw, who said Centrica's effective rate of tax is 46pc, said the variety of taxes on energy companies is "highly complex" and confusing, with some parts paying big levies and others receiving generous subsidies. "We would be very happy with no subsidies and a basic rate of corporation tax," he said. Mr King said the row over how much corporation tax was paid by companies, particularly internet giants and US conglomerates, had been "conflated" over the debate about business rates. He said the levy paid by retailers on shops was a "legacy tax" and had to be addressed because it gives web-based companies an advantage over the high street. "Tax should not be part of a competitive advantage and that playing field needs to be levelled," he said. In May, Sir Roger Carr, the former president of the CBI, said "tax payments are not, and should not, be a down payment on social acceptability." He told Prime Minister David Cameron: "Avoid the moral debate - it's all about the rules."