Alphabet’s Google unit will know as early as this week if the tech giant will owe €1.12 billion (US $1.3 billion) in back taxes to France, Bloomberg reports.
This comes just days after Google was hit with a record antitrust fine by the European Union. The judges could rule as soon as Wednesday to determine whether Google illegally avoided French taxes by routing sales in the country out of Ireland.
“The backlash has been unrelenting because tax populism and Google-bashing are on the rise among certain politicians,” said Maximilien Jazani, a tax lawyer in Paris. The case could have “extremely harmful” side effects because any change in how tax law is interpreted would apply to all companies and could deter investment in France, he said.
Full Content: Bloomberg
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