After a long negotiation and an even longer hesitation, Google has raised the white flag: it will pay 965 million euros to France to settle two disputes that pitted it against the Paris tax authorities.
“We have ended the tax and related disputes that we have had in France for many years,” Google itself said in a statement released after the court hearing. This was reported by Bloomberg, explaining that Big G, under fire in Europe for its tax policies, has reached a 500 million agreement to close a criminal investigation into an alleged tax fraud and signed a second agreement to pay another 465 million in taxes arrears. The agreement was validated during a hearing in the Paris court with the support of the French Ministry of Finance.
"Good news for public finances and for fiscal fairness in France," French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet and Public Accounts Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a joint statement. The settlement, accepted by Google France and Google Ireland, ends the "aggravated tax evasion" lawsuits initiated in 2015 and permanently eliminates the prospect of a trial for Google. The multinational has a ten-day withdrawal period from the agreement.
A similar deal, but for a smaller amount, Google had also negotiated with the Italian tax authorities always through Google Italy and Google Ireland where the headquarters for Europe is located.
