Google to pay $1bn in European tax case: Tech giant is fined $548million and agrees to pay $514million to settle claim with French authorities
US internet giant Google has agreed a settlement totalling $1billion (945 million euros) to settle a tax dispute in France under an agreement announced in court on Thursday.
The company will pay a $548 million (500-million-euro) fine for tax evasion, as well as a further 465 million euros to settle claims with French tax authorities.
French investigators have been seeking to establish whether Google, whose European headquarters are based in Dublin, failed to pay its dues to the state by avoiding to declare parts of its activities in the country.
Google, part of Alphabet Inc, pays little tax in most European countries because it reports almost all sales in Ireland.
This is possible thanks to a loophole in international tax law but it hinges on staff in Dublin concluding all sales contracts.
‘[The agreement allows] to settle once for all these past disputes,’ said Antonin Levy, one of Google’s lawyers, at a hearing in the Paris court.