FUTURE Liberal Democrat governments would ban public subsidies to companies accused of not paying enough tax under proposals expected to be backed by party activists.

The move follows intense public anger over the tax affairs of Amazon and other large multinationals.

There was outrage in May when figures showed that the internet retail giant paid less than £2.5 million in UK tax last year, despite generating £4 billion of British sales.

At the same time the UK arm of the firm received around £2.5m in grants - from both the Westminster and Scottish Governments.

A motion before LibDem activists next month attempts to tie the hands of future LibDem Coalitions at Westminster and Holyrood.

LibDem sources said the vote was not an inevitability but said they would be "surprised" if it did not pass given public opinion.

The motion will be voted on at a special Scottish LibDem conference on the eve of the party's annual conference, both of which will be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow.

It says "many of these companies use complex tax mechanisms to avoid or to minimise contributions to the UK tax system".

It calls on LibDems in any future Government to commit to the "removal of any financial support, whether direct or indirect, from companies using these procedures". The policy must also be adopted by the Federal and Welsh parties "in order that a consistent stand across the UK is taken on systemic tax avoidance by multinationals," it adds.

The Scottish Government has defended providing Amazon with £430,000 of funding last year, saying the more than 2000 people the group employs in Scotland makes a significant contribution to local economies.

The federal conference will also hear calls to end round-the-clock patrols by nuclear armed submarines.

Yesterday the SNP said that motion, along with others backing university tuition fees and nuclear power, show the party could "scarcely be more out of step with the priorities of people in Scotland if (it) tried".

A spokesman for Amazon said: "Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within."