Google’s Ireland subsidiary has agreed to pay 218 million euros (£183 million) in taxes to the Irish government, according to company filings.
The US technology company, which has been accused of evading hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes across Europe through a loophole known as the “Irish, Dutch double sandwich”, said it had “agreed to resolve a number of issues”. tax in relation to previous years”.
Google Ireland says it will pay a corporate tax of 622 million euros for 2020, including a delinquent payment of 218 million euros and interest fees. Last year Google Ireland paid tax of €263 million.
Under the 2015 law, the company, which is part of parent company Alphabet, promised last year that it would eliminate the loophole strategy, allowing it to effectively shift revenue earned from Europe abroad to places like Bermuda, where taxes are zero. A Bloomberg investigation found that the plan allows Google to cut its overseas tax rate to just 2.4%.
Google did not explain the reason for the tax return in its account and did not respond to a request for comment. In the application, it simply says: “From year to year, the company has agreed to settle a number of tax issues related to previous years. This tax liability and related interest are recognized in the current financial year. ”
Paul Monaghan, chief executive of the Fair Tax Foundation, said: “There is indeed a shameful lack of transparency around Alphabet’s tax behavior, especially at the level of its Irish subsidiaries. Stakeholders have a right to know what this Irish corporation tax settlement is related to.
“Investors in particular should be worried because Alphabet’s U.S. filing shows it has billions of dollars in disputes with tax authorities globally in circumstances that, by its own definition, have little more than 50% chance of winning.”
Ireland, which has provided a low-tax European headquarters for many of the world’s largest multinationals, initially refused to sign up to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s agreement on rates The global minimum corporate tax rate is 15% by 2023, but has reduced resistance to the plan following changes to the text.
The deal, with most of the 140 countries participating in the negotiations, is designed to end decades of countries undermining their neighbors by offering companies lower tax rates.
Accounts show that Google Ireland Limited made pre-tax profits of 2.85 billion euros in 2020, up from 1.94 billion euros in 2019. Revenue increased 2.7 billion euros to 48.4 billion euros.
