Google’s Irish subsidiary has agreed to pay 218 million euros (US$244.94 million) in back taxes to the Irish government, company filings showed on Thursday.
The US tech giant, which had been accused of avoiding tax across Europe through loopholes known as the “Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich,” said it had “agreed to the resolution of certain tax matters relating to prior years.”
Google Ireland Ltd said it would pay corporation tax of 622 million euros for last year, including the 218 million euros of backdated tax settlement and interest charges.
The previous year, Google Ireland paid taxes of 263 million euros.
The company, which is part of parent company Alphabet, last year promised that it would ditch the “Double Irish, Dutch sandwich” strategy, which allowed it to effectively shuffle revenue made across Europe offshore to places such as Bermuda, where the tax rate was zero.
A Bloomberg investigation showed that the scheme allowed Google to cut its overseas tax rate to just 2.4 percent.
Google did not explain the reason for the back tax payment in its accounts and did not respond to request for comment.
In the filing it said only: “Subsequent to year-end, the company agreed to the resolution of certain tax matters relating to prior years. This tax liability and associated interest are recognized in the current financial year.”
“There really is a disgraceful lack of transparency around Alphabet’s tax conduct, especially at the level of the Irish subsidiaries,” said Paul Monaghan, chief executive of the British-based Fair Tax Foundation. “Stakeholders have a right to know what this Irish corporation tax settlement relates to.”
“Investors in particular should be concerned given Alphabet’s US filings show that it has billions more in dispute with tax authorities around the globe in circumstances where, by its own definition, it has less than 50 percent chance of winning,” Monaghan said.
Ireland, which provides low-tax European headquarters for many of the world’s largest multinationals, has declined to sign up to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development agreement for a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent by 2023.
The agreement, which has been joined by 136 out of 140 countries taking part in negotiations, is designed to end decades of countries offering companies lower tax rates.
The accounts show that Google Ireland last year made a pretax profit of 2.85 billion euros, up from 1.94 billion euros in 2019.
Turnover rose by 2.7 billion euros to 48.4 billion euros.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is seeking government approval for an advanced wafer fab at the Longtan (龍潭) campus of Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the park's bureau said today. In a written reply, the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau said it would submit a proposal for the third phase of the Longtan Science Park (龍潭科學園區), including plans for a TSMC fab, later this month to the National Science and Technology Council for review. The contract chipmaker previously bid to build a fab using a process more advanced than its current 2-nanometer (nm) technology at the Longtan Campus, but the plan was shelved
RSS