French authorities have decided to make a tax claim of €1 billion against Google following a probe into the tax strategies by the US internet giant, according to reports. A Google spokesman in France declined to comment on the report in Le Point magazine, saying the company does not comment on rumours. The French finance ministry also declined to comment, citing tax confidentiality.
France’s tax authorities have launched a 1 billion euro tax claim against Google, it was reported today. It follows financial inspectors searching the Paris offices of the internet giant in June 2011 as it investigated their accounting. Google has reduced the amount of tax it pays in France by channelling its revenue through a Dutch-registered intermediary and then to a Bermuda-registered holding, Google Ireland Limited, before reporting it in low-tax Ireland. Socialist France is currently one of the highest taxed countries in the world, with the top rate of income tax standing at 75 per cent.