Investigators Raid Google Paris HQ in Tax Evasion Inquiry

French police searched the Paris offices of US Internet giant Google as part of a tax frau
AFP

(Reuters) — French investigators raided Google’s Paris headquarters on Tuesday as part of a tax evasion inquiry, the financial prosecutor’s office said.

Google said it was fully complying with French law.

Facing public anger at the way multinational companies use their footprints around the world to minimize tax, France, Britain and others have sought ways to make sure Google, Yahoo! and other digital giants, who often have their tax bases in other countries, pay their taxes locally.

Investigators from the financial prosecutors office and France’s central office against corruption and tax fraud, accompanied by 25 IT specialists, took part in the raid.

“The investigation aims to verify whether Google Ireland Ltd has a permanent base in France and if, by not declaring parts of its activities carried out in France, it failed its fiscal obligations, including on corporate tax and value added tax,” the prosecutor’s office said in statement.

Read the rest of the story at Reuters.

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