By Jonathan Davies
Black cab drivers in London have launched an anti-Uber campaign across the city.
Taxis and billboards have been covered in posters which claim that rival firm Uber does not pay any tax.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) said the campaign is to "highlight what we are up against".
The poster shows Uber senior vice president of policy and strategy Rachel Whetstone and her friend, who happens to be the Prime Minister. Next to them is the Chancellor George Obsorne holding a car which says Uber does not pay tax to the Treasury.
Uber said in response: "The campaign is simply incorrect. We pay taxes in every country we operate in and comply with all local and international tax laws, this includes the UK."
Last year, Transport for London (TfL) reported Uber to HMRC after the then-chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Margaret Hodge said Uber was opting out of the UK's tax system.
Uber has grown in stature in recent ways, with convenience and affordability a key drawing point for customers. But taxi drivers in cities around the world claim Uber should be regulated in the same way they are. Uber has been banned in a number of cities.
"These ads are not anti-Uber," Steve McNamara, general secretary of the LTDA told the BBC.
"The campaign is designed to highlight that the lobbying arm of Uber, a $50bn US company, has its tentacles embedded deep within Whitehall.
"The irony is that UK tax payers are subsidising Uber, a company that pays no tax in the UK, through tax credits and other DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) benefits paid to Uber drivers earning less than minimum wage."
