Italy: Google settles £259m tax bill to end criminal investigation

Alphabet’s Google has agreed to pay around EUR306 million ($334 million) in back taxes in Italy, settling one of multiple legal and regulatory battles that have dogged the tech giant in Europe.

The settlement ends one of several probes into Google’s tax arrangements in the European Union, as governments maintain the pressure on other US giants they accuse of tax evasion.

The tax probes come as Brussels and national capitals crack down on what they view as corporate tax abuse, both by pushing to change international tax rules and by investigating companies that have struck deals with low-tax jurisdictions to slash their tax bill.

Thursday’s agreement between Google and Italy relates mainly to corporate taxes the Italians say Google failed to pay between 2009 and 2015. Rome alleges Google routed more than EUR1 billion in Italy-based revenue to its office in Ireland, where tax rates are far lower.

A company spokesman said that of the EUR306 million in back taxes, EUR303 million was attributed to Google Italy, with the rest to Google Ireland. As part of the deal, Google will agree to pay taxes on future income — largely related to advertising sales — generated in Italy, according to Italian tax authorities.

Full Content: Telegraph

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