According to a story in Bloomberg this week, Google (GOOG) is getting audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to see if they “avoided federal income taxes by shifting profit into offshore subsidiaries”
“The IRS has requested information from Google about its offshore deals after three acquisitions, including its $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube”
“The transfer overseas of these kinds of rights has enabled Google to attribute earnings to foreign units that pay lower taxes”
“Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, has cut its worldwide tax bill by about $1 billion a year using a pair of strategies called the “Double Irish” and “Dutch Sandwich,” which move profits through units in Ireland, the Netherlands and Bermuda. Google reported an effective tax rate of 18.8 percent in the second quarter, less than half the average combined U.S. and state statutory rate of 39.2 percent.”
The story goes on to say that the French tax authority is also checking on Google’s income shifting “examining transactions between the company’s French and Irish subsidiaries”
Looks like governments wants more $$$ from Google’s revenue.
it’s too late … Google already IS a planetary monopoly
Bernie Ebbers must be having a good chuckle about what his WorldCOM buddies are up to at the Big.G
I read an article just the other day that said Google had paid something like £8m in the last 5-6 years in Tax here in the UK.
It sickening when I see these big corporates pay nigh on fuck all tax and even making threatening postures no less, like Vodafone fucking 3rd world countries.
These companies have now got so cute that they transfer price their way out of paying anything to anyone.
The British government hasnt got any balls or even worse they are getting stroked by the companies. Every pound that gets earned in this country should be taxed in this country, if they dont like it then we simply block the site.
You yanks are getting screwed over too however a load of you have been brain washed into thinking that the word taxation is dirty. Corporations are hoarding money whilst at the same time laying off staff and paying C suite execs MORE THAN pre 2007 wages. All the while the lobbying of all the intrests continues apace and everyone is represented bar the people.
I love the spin and bullshit, truely. “Job creators” LOL. The average Joe is getting it up the arse and the situation could get worse before it gets better. The only jobs being created are in emerging markets and “”created” is the wrong word, whats really happening is jobs are being “shifted” from us to them.
I make my money from the financial market and I am happy with my lot however the worse thing this country could have done is put so many eggs into this industry, you guys have done the same to a slighty lesser extent. The problem is that now there is far to much influence from finance, far too much reliance on finance but worst of all the best minds who would normally be drawn to other industries are being bought lock stock to devise utterly pointless products within the market. By utter pointless I mean products that rob the mug punter that trades.
Anyway I am ranting, here are the figues:
Google – UK revenue over six years £6.35B
Google – UK tax over six years £8m
LOL. Wankers.
Agree with the ‘job creation’ myth. Large corporates only inherent motivation is profit creation and retention. U.s. standard of living is destined to decrease as parity in the ROW will gain.
Now if it’s true then that is just low. Here there are people organizing on wall street about greedy corporations some of which arejust doing what they are legally allowed to do and then there is Mr. “Do no evil” over there not paying allegedly not paying $1B in taxes, which would help all these people (well would supposedly help them)
Things like this are tricky to ponder, not least because you need a masters in accounting to understand the shenanigans that are afoot.
Half of me thinks that they should pony up their fair share, but then the other half considers the countless lives that have been saved by withholding these funds from the man. Maybe they’re just following the do no evil thing 🙂
spin? what spin?
lol.