A committee of MPs in the UK has criticized Amazon, Google and Starbucks, all US based firms, for indulging in tax avoidance activities in the UK.

The lawmakers said that the companies used secretive jurisdictions, royalties and complex company structures in order to avoid paying taxes in the UK. The Commons public accounts committee released a highly critical report on Monday accusing the companies of tax avoidance through various measures.

The report also criticized the HM Revenue & Customs for being lenient with the companies that pay no or very little corporation tax in the UK. It has urged the government to fix loopholes in the tax laws and also name and shame companies that do not pay their fail level of tax dues in the country.

Following the release of the report and media outrage, Starbucks announced that it reviewing its tax approach to the UK with a focus on paying more taxes after its tax handling received widespread criticism. The company did not pay any corporation tax in the country even as its sales rose £398 million. A report following an investigation by news agency Reuters of four years showed that the company paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in more than 14 years and did not pay a dime during the previous three years in the UK.

UK chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce an extra £77 million a year to appoint more staff in order to go after companies that avoid taxes. It is claimed that the effort will help raise extra £2 billion a year in unpaid tax.