GoogleTaxesAndLaw

Google breaking the law
"What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules," declared Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's Competition Commissioner.

"It has denied other companies the chance to compete on their merits and to innovate, and most importantly it has denied European consumers the benefits of competition, genuine choice and innovation."

Google hit with record EU fine for anti-competitive Practices

Ongoing Antitrust EU investigations
Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on comparison shopping service; opens separate formal investigation on Android

Antitrust: Commission takes further steps in investigations alleging Google's comparison shopping and advertising-related practices breach EU rules*


 * "Do something about monopolies. The whole business model of Silicon Valley is monopoly." Thomas Frank

Aggressive_tax_avoidance Criticisms of Google - Wikipedia
"'the chair of the United Kingdom Public Accounts Committee, accused Google of being 'calculated and [...] unethical' over its use of the scheme. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has claimed that this scheme of Google is 'capitalism', and that he was 'very proud' of it.'"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Google#Aggressive_tax_avoidance

How Google and Apple Make Their Taxes Disappear - Newsweek
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/12/26/how-google-and-apple-make-their-taxes-disappear-291571.html

Google Moved Billions Of Dollars To Bermuda To Avoid Taxes... Again - Forbes - 2016
"On Friday, Reuters reported that in 2014 the tech giant—which now falls under parent company Alphabet—transferred 11.7 billion Euros (approximately $13 billion) to Bermuda in an effort to minimize the taxes it had to pay on its income through a little tax maneuver that has been dubbed a "Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich."

In the simplest of terms, Google, like many multinational corporations, used differences in the Irish and American tax codes to its advantage. A portion of Google’s profits are paid to an Irish affiliate as royalties on its patents (which are taxed at a lower rate). To further avoid taxes, this money is then routed to the company’s Dutch subsidiary, Google Netherlands Holdings BV. From there, the company tranfers its revenue to another affiliate, Google Ireland Holdings, which is based in the notorious tax haven of Bermuda—but registered in Ireland, Reuters reports. So there you have it—double Irish with a Dutch sandwich."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailtracy/2016/02/19/google-moved-billions-of-dollars-to-bermuda-to-avoid-taxes-again

Google ducks $1.27bn bill for back taxes in France - The Guardian - 2017
A French court handed Google’s parent company, Alphabet, a reprieve from a 1.11bn-euro ($1.27bn) tax bill on Wednesday in a major victory for the tech giant.

The decision comes after six years of fighting with the French tax authority over back taxes it claims are due from the tech firm for the years 2005 to 2010.

The French tax administration argued that Google had to pay taxes in France because the California firm and its subsidiary in Ireland have been selling a service for inserting online ads to clients in France for years through its Google search engine.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/12/google-taxes-france-ruling

Steuerschlupfloch: Google-Mutter Alphabet vermeidet weiter Steuern in Milliardenhöhe - Heise.de - 2018
"Alphabet hat 2016 schon fast 20 Milliarden US-Dollar der Besteuerung entzogen und dank eines komplizierten Verfahrens wohl mindestens 2,4 Milliarden an Steuern eingespart. Das Schlupfloch bleibt noch bis 2020 offen."

https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Steuerschlupfloch-Google-Mutter-Alphabet-vermeidet-weiter-Steuern-in-Milliardenhoehe-3931187.html