this is the business briefing. i'm ben bland. trying to tax the tech titans: large technology companies have long avoided paying high levels of tax. we look at the latest efforts to get them to pay more. the generation gap: we look at how people are increasingly working for a boss younger than themselves, in some cases, just half their age! and on the markets, asian shares reversed earlier losses and moved higher as chinese efforts to cushion the blow from a coronavirus outbreakcheered investors. —— coronavirus outbreak cheered investors. japanese stocks faltered amid growing recession risks.

0h, oh, you are spinning again! keeping me on my toes! let's go and have a sit down. there we go. right. itell you and have a sit down. there we go. right. i tell you what, let's pretend that didn't happen! facebook founder and ceo mark zuckerberg will be in brussels today where he will meet three european commissioners. while the meeting is not specifically about tax, don't be surprised if the question pops up. mr zuckerberg is expected to back plans by think tank oecd to find a global solution to the problem. facebook and others have been accused of not paying theirfair share of tax in countries where they operate. in the uk, facebook paid just $37.2 million — or £28.5 million — in corporation tax in 2018

despite generating a record $2.15 billion or £1.65 billion in british sales. amazon, facebook and google have strained existing rules because they are able to book profits in low—tax countries, like ireland, no matter where their customers are. the uk has planned to introduce its own digital services tax in april despite us objections in a move that could generate up to $650 million or £500 million a year. france has agreed to postpone its own digital sales tax until the end of the year, pending a global agreement. dominic stuttaford from international law firm norton rose fulbright joins me now. good to see you. so... how can they deal with this situation where these big tech titans are not paying the tax they should? what we needed global reform.

the system hasn't kept up—to—date with how they conduct their businesses so the countries as a group need to agree on some change. how do you do that unless you have got every country agreeing to apply the same levels of tax? that is the same levels of tax? that is the real difficulty. it is something the oecd has been struggling with for years. the need to get 140 countries on board. they are making good progress. they expect to reach a result by the end of this year. some people would say that these companies are doing exactly as companies should. they prioritise the interest of their shareholders and that is to maximise profits, and they have an obligation in some ways to pay as little tax as they can. but what they would say, i think fairly can. but what they would say, i thinkfairly in can. but what they would say, i think fairly in response to that, is that they have a wider interest, and equally, they are very conscious that their consumers want them to pay as they say as their amount of tax. if they don't, their business in a wider sense will suffer. how do you get around

the situation where a key economy and a strong political power like the us puts pressure on countries that do want to try and close the loophole? have seen france delay its plans, we have seen... the uk said it will go ahead regardless but risk straining relations when they try and do a trade deal. anything succeed if the us is objecting? you need to get the was on—board not just because need to get the was on—board notjust because a lot of major companies are based there, because it is a major economy. the us is slowly showing signs of changing and coming on board. if you come up with a package that suits the us, they will be on board in the end. what is the danger, the harm if the situation is not resolved? the harm is that each country doesn't own efforts on its own, so you have one system in the uk, one in france, one in germany, one in spain, and intact sense, you get chaos. but even if some countries change the rules and get these tech giants to pay more, will they not always simply go to

expert tax lawyers perhaps like yourself or others and say, look, here is the system. how do we work within this and achieve a result we want, which is to pay a little tax as possible? historically, that was probably the case. the good thing is the substance is now made. the old days where you are able to move capital easily, they are probably gone. 0k, thank you very much. it's as australian as kangaroos, but now the holden car brand is no more. let's go to our asia business hub where sarah toms is following the story. what has happened? hello. yes, thatis what has happened? hello. yes, that is right. after more than 160 years of history, the holden brand is finally coming to an end. holden started off asa to an end. holden started off as a saddle maker in south australia and then it started building cars in 1908. since thenit building cars in 1908. since then it has had a long history

in australia with general motors, i think 90 years. it now general motors says is going to wind down its sales, designs and operations in australia and new zealand by the end of next year. the company said it has explored ways to keep holden brand alive, but they decided it would just cost too much money to stay in what is known as a right—hand drive market. that is australia and new zealand. but is the left—hand drive in the us and that is the problem. it is just too expensive to make these cars specifically just for the australian and new zealand market. it is all part of this move by gm to get out of this move by gm to get out of these under profitable markets and focus on places like the us, china and south korea. gm had stop —— stop manufacturing in australia three years ago, but it carried on making and marketing these vehicles in thailand and china's great wall motors has already agreed to by the

manufacturing plant. the statement by gm did not say how manyjobs would be lost, but reports suggest it could be as many as 600 layoffs, and in a statement, thejeon website chief —— gm website chief exec said they would do the right thing even when it is hard, and this is one of those times. it seems certainly for the fans out there, the # #ripholden trending at the moment with fa ns trending at the moment with fans posting pictures and memories of their much loved iconic australian brand. thank you very much. now, let's brief you on some other business stories. tesla has been ordered to temporarily halt preparations for a car factory in germany after environmentalists won a court injunction on sunday. the electric carmaker had been clearing forest land near the capital, berlin, ahead of building its first european car and battery plant. protesters say the factory is a threat

to local wildlife and water supplies. india's supreme court has refused to grant telecoms companies further time to pay billions of dollars in additional revenues to the government, meaning they need to pay $13 billion by 17 march. for vodafone—idea, the order comes during an especially difficult period. just last week, the company announced a sixth—straight quarterly loss. now, have you ever had a situation at work where someone much younger than you has been put in charge of you? it's the kind of situation that is becoming more common as young people with the latest social media skills are brought into the workplace. as part of crossing divides, a bbc season about bringing people together in a fragmented world, dougal shaw went to visit a company in bournemouth in the south of england, where two people have worked through their differences. how would you feel if your boss was much younger than you? he

is younger than my younger son. i was working before he was born! i think it is important for me to recognise that i am a young person in a senior role. however, i think it is important not to go around with a big ego. keeping a watchful eye over the office. this is the operations manager. he is 20 and newly promoted, fresh from his a—levels and apprenticeships. he chairs meetings and is the first point of co nta ct meetings and is the first point of contact for clients at this marketing agency in bournemouth. he was brought in purely on the fact that he had digital skills that i didn't presently have. i still use a notebook and pen. it is like my comfort blanket. lots of companies are hiring young people for their social media skills, though not many get demoted as quickly as the oh. he was young and enthusiastic, but also mature —— theo. but it

was a little bit different when i then knew that not only was i going to be working alongside him, but eventually he was actually going to be in a management position over me. that took some real adjusting on my behalf. one of theo's jobs was to bring charlie up to speed on her social media skills which are needed for modern digital marketing. he has got skills that i don't have. it is really learning to accept that. there have built a strong relationship. they see the keys to crossing the age divided work are usual respect and a readiness to learn from one another. charlie has a lot of experience in many things, so of experience in many things, soi of experience in many things, solam of experience in many things, so i am always learning about tips and tricks from her, especially her work in the charity sector. you can be a just because someone is too young because someone is too old. that's it for the business briefing this hour.

up next, newsbriefing. love island will be back on tv tonight after itv cancelled both weekend episodes. it's following the death of the former host, caroline flack. the 40—year—old killed herself on saturday less than a month before she was due to go on trial accused of assaulting her boyfriend. simonjones reports. caroline flack became synonymous with the show that mac love island, though she had from presenting it after she was accused of assaulting her boyfriend. tonight, the show will return with a tribute to her. but some have called for the series to be scrapped completely. itv set up be scrapped completely. itv set up careful consideration with caroline flack‘s representatives, the show will

go on. it added she will be forever in our hearts, a message echoed last night. we would like to begin the show by taking a moment to remember caroline flack. we wanted to say that our hearts go out to herfamily say that our hearts go out to her family and friends. as caroline herself recently posted, in a world where you could be anything, be kind. this was caroline flack in happier times, winning strictly come dancing in 2014. recently she has struggled after her relationship with her boyfriend became the subject of a court case. she denied assaulting him, but was banned from contacting him. he denied being a victim and didn't want the prosecution to go ahead. this led to questions about the decision to persist with the case and about the pressures faced by tv celebrities from the press and social media. an online petition calling for a government enquiry into the british press and their practices was attracted more than 200,000 supporters, while a file and found prepared to say an emotional farewell. ——

love island. coming up at 6:00 on breakfast, charlie stayt and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: 400 americans who were quarantined on the diamond princess cruise ship have left japan on two charter planes bound for the us. hundreds of flood warnings remain in place across the uk, following heavy rain caused by storm dennis over the weekend. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the times which leads with comments from french foreign ministerjean—yves le drian who has warned that talks

between britain and the eu over a future trade deal will turn nasty and that the negotiators were likely to "rip each other apart." the new york times online has many coronavirus related stories, as well as this one reporting hundreds of americans have been flown out of japan after leaving the quarantined diamond princess cruise ship. a further 70 people onboard tested positive for the virus bringing the total to 355 passengers infected. the guardian reports uk politicians and members of the public are condeming press intrusion and calling for more regulation of both traditional and social media after the death of tv presenter caroline flack. the mail 0nline website says outraged passengers have criticised the ceo of delta airlines and are calling for a boycott after he suggested flyers should ask permission before putting back their seats on planes. his comments came in response to a viral video showing two passengers fighting over a reclined seat. and finally on the bbc news website, people in the us are being urged to

consider human composting and other environmentally friendly options for when they pass away. washington has recently became the first us state to legalise human composting, and funeral directors in the uk are reporting a surge in requests for green burials and other more sustainable alternatives to burial and cremation. with me is simoney kyriakou who is editor of the financial adviser. so the times. tough talk on trades as the french foreign minister. in other news, is the pope catholic, and if a tree falls in the woods does anyone here. anyone who thought it would be tea and crumpets is living in cuckoo land. negotiations would always be tough and as the secretary said every side will take the ha rd est every side will take the hardest possible negotiating point when it comes to trying to getan point when it comes to trying to get an agreement on the table. so of course it won't be

all tea and