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0 pointsweberc210y ago0 comments

If the article is to be believed, the problem is that France is prosecuting law-abiding companies, presumably because they're doing business in rival nations.

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Xylakant10y ago· 2 in thread

That's not what the text says. Googles spokesperson is quoted as saying they're complying with the law - but well, what is Googles spokesperson supposed to say?

The whole paragraph starting with "accused of" is not about "legally being accused of breaking the law" but about the fact, that this (seemingly) legal tax structuring is under increased scrutiny. One part of that is testing if that's actually really legal because scholars can hold different opinions and it's never been tested in court, another part is changing the laws to make this actually illegal and close loopholes. This has been going on for a while in europe and it's not a problem, France or otherwise. The fact that Google did pay up in a similar UK case indicates to me that matters are not obviously and 100% legal.

weberc2OP10y ago

"Several have been accused of using legal methods to minimise their tax bills. In Google's case, its tax structure allows it to pay tax in the Republic of Ireland, even when sales appear to relate to the UK."

I took this to mean Google was among the companies accused of using "legal methods". Am I misreading?

pbhjpbhj10y ago

Didn't Google avoid the case in the UK by paying an amount of their own choosing? Basically giving them a headline that looked like they were being altruistic whilst still avoiding paying a 'proper' amount of tax?

(I may have misremembered??)

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