(NASDAQ:GOOGL) headquarters in Paris, France were raided by police. The French government is reportedly pursuing the tech company for 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in back taxes. An Alphabet spokesman said: “We are cooperating with the authorities to answer their questions”.
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Investigators in France raided Google’s Paris headquarters early Tuesday morning as part of a tax-evasion inquiry, several news agencies have reported.
European lawmakers have continually pressured companies to meet their tax obligations in the countries where they do business.
Italian authorities claimed victory with a €318 million tax settlement from Apple late previous year and have also eyed Google.
Authorities are claiming that the company is operating permanent offices in Paris, so it must abide by local laws and pay French taxes, which are among the highest in Europe. Ireland has gotten Apple in trouble, too, since it has provided an alleged “tax loophole” to tech companies.
The tax probe comes on top of formal charges against Google by the European Commission in April for violating antitrust laws over its mobile operating system Android and charges a year ago for abusing its dominant position in the internet search market.
In a major escalation of the west European nation’s long running enquiry into the U.S. Internet giant’s tax affairs, magistrates revealed today that the company is suspected of evading tax payments by failing to declare the entire extent of its activities in France. At the start of 2016, Google faced a similar investigation in the United Kingdom, but the tech giant reached an accord with British authorities. In February, French authorities called for Google to pay €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) to the government, which it allegedly owes in back taxes. “That doesn’t mean Google won’t also face a recovery order from France’s tax authorities”, he said in a phone interview.
The company has come under a lot of scrutiny for its tax affairs in Europe, including in Italy where it is facing calls to pay back nearly $225 million in taxes.
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The European Commission ruled in October that Luxembourg and the Netherlands violated EU rules by striking sweetheart tax deals with Fiat and Starbucks.
