Social media giant Facebook has announced it will stop routing sales from major UK customers through Ireland, in a move which is likely to result in a large increase in the amount of tax it pays in Britain.

The move comes after widespread criticism of multinational companies' use of complex tax arrangements to minimise their liabilities.

Facebook said in a statement that the new arrangement - which will start in April - would provide greater 'transparency'.

A Facebook spokesman said: 'On Monday we will start notifying large UK customers that from the start of April they will receive invoices from Facebook UK and not Facebook Ireland. What this means in practice is that UK sales made directly by our UK team will be booked in the UK, not Ireland. Facebook UK will then record the revenue from these sales.

'In light of changes to tax law in the UK, we felt this change would provide transparency to Facebook's operations in the UK. The new structure is easier to understand and clearly recognises the value our UK organisation adds to our sales through our highly skilled and growing UK sales team.'