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Google Now Pays More Money in EU Fines Than it Pays in Taxes (computing.co.uk)
An anonymous reader writes: Google owner Alphabet has reported annual and quarterly revenues up again, largely on the back of increasing market share in online advertising. The company reported fourth quarter revenues up 22 per cent to $39.28 billion, while annual revenues were up 23 per cent to $136.8 billion. And the company also took the time to separate out "European Commission fines" in its consolidated statements of income in the company's accounts. These increased from $2.7 billion in 2017 to $5.1 billion in 2018, with a further 50 million euro already set to be added to the bill for its first quarter and 2019 accounts, thanks to French data protection authority CNIL.That fine compares to a provision for income taxes of just $4.2 billion for 2018, or 12 per cent of its pre-tax income.
Net income for the full year increased by a 143 per cent from $12.67 billion to $30.74 billion thanks largely to a radically lower provision for income taxes - down from $14.5 billion to just $4.2 billion. The company attributed this tax boost down to the US Tax Act of 2017, which had depressed net income in 2017. This had "resulted in additional tax expense of $9.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, primarily due to the one-time transition tax on accumulated foreign subsidiary earnings and deferred tax effects", the company claimed in its earnings release.
Net income for the full year increased by a 143 per cent from $12.67 billion to $30.74 billion thanks largely to a radically lower provision for income taxes - down from $14.5 billion to just $4.2 billion. The company attributed this tax boost down to the US Tax Act of 2017, which had depressed net income in 2017. This had "resulted in additional tax expense of $9.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, primarily due to the one-time transition tax on accumulated foreign subsidiary earnings and deferred tax effects", the company claimed in its earnings release.
From the article, one cannot tell what the fines are attributable to. For example, if the fines are in fact a form of back-pay on some of the taxes, then the comparison doesn't really make much sense. Google is presumably run by rational people who are working to optimize their bottom line.
Are their accountants doing their job? Clearly their lawyers need more practice, or is that the Bag Men who've dropped the ball?
It was obvious that Europe can not use their tax laws to go after Google (and other American tech companies), so, they were going to use their laws with MASSIVE fines. I had to laugh when somebody gripped about America fining VW 2.8B for their lying and polluting, while Europe will make up fake fines which are much higher against these companies and use it on their coffers.
Yeah, because American mega-corps are such a nice honest salt-of-the-earth bunch people who never cheat on their taxes. I'm pretty sure the people running US corporations are the exact same species of greedy sociopathic assholes as their European colleagues. I for one despise them all equally.
So as the US Federal Government goes deeper into debt to fund Corporate Tax Breaks, the EU gladly hands down fines to collect the dollars those same companies are NOT paying in infrastructure reinvestment, average worker wages and benefits.
What part of Reaganomics "trickledown" lead to raising taxes on the middle class 11 times in Reagan's 8 years are lost on people. Stop buying the "trickledown" lies.
they are NOT being fined for taxes. They are being fined for all sorts of BS that their own companies do, but it is not illegal....
Such as? ... please enlighten us by elaborating and providing some citations to weasel stuff that European Corpocrats do but American ones would never dream of doing because they are such honest salt-of-the-earth people.
I'm not sure what effect you're after, but if you believe that will make the rest of the world go "oh gosh, we better not piss off amercian corporations again" I think you might be disappointed. If the desire is to keep control for as long as possible then not giving the world a good reason to build their own infrastructure is probably the best course.
It would also seriously impact the business of those mega corps. Again, not sure what your goal is, but its probably not beneficial to the american economy as a whole... and outside short term pain, probably long term gain.
I think it's not provable unless you delve, and you're not doing that. However it's also irrelevant because they have the right to have laws! Google plays in their country's sandbox, not the other way around. Google != Sovereign.
If they were really not wanting to pay the fines they'd ADDRESS THE VIOLATIONS OF LAW, which wouldn't be impossible and everyone else has to do it also, OR STOP OPERATING IN EUROPE. Them's the breaks kid.
They choose to pay. They make massive profits anyway. Now if they only fix their models to protect user privacy over their multifaceted interconnected empire of data collection "for advertising" -wink, THEY WOULD BE ALL SET.
Stop apologizing for a massive profit just because a country wanted to enforce their laws SLIGHTLY in the process. It's retarded. And no, I'm 100% not trolling.
That idiot windbourne literally seems to think EU can't have different laws than the US, or what Google would prefer. Fuck him back to a Lego movie, he's an idiot. Completely not trolling, 100% serious.
Capiche?
You are so dumb you should be in government with Trump.
Here is what will happen.
The rest of the world will realise relying on the USA is a BAD thing, so they will build competing services. They will also try to limit their financial exposure to the whims of the USA and will choose to build stronger relationships with a wider base.
Then there is the 2.5 Trillion in exports that is put at risk, how many jobs would be gone if that gets even a 5% drop ?
Over 80% of the worlds economy does not involve the USA.
Personally I am all for it, the US is less a friend than a bully.
Start your trade wars, you will loose.
Build your walls, they keep people in just as effectively as out (Canada may want to consider this too)
Piss everyone off, they will let you keep your ball, but then they will play elsewhere.
The USA has far more to loose than to gain.
https://www.businessinsider.co...
not compared to the profits let alone the cost of running a government and associated services. If google can get out of paying taxes for fines they're way, way ahead.
You're dead right about trickle down economics. Here in the states we changed the name to "Job Creators" and that stuck. Never underestimate the power of think tanks & focus groups.
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Otherwise they would have changed to conform with the law.
It is easy. All taxes should be paid at point of revenue and all cost deductions should be proven and the associated profits with those deductions even offshore ones, should be taxed. So no matter where the cost goes, the profits associated with it are taxed as if they occured locally at the point of revenue, no profit shifting should be allowed. Not able to prove the cost and profit in a different country, pay tax on total revenue and tough luck on the loss.
All taxes should be paid at point of revenue, the location where the customer spent their money.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Of course, it's a lot easier to take if from someone else than to work for it
they are NOT being fined for taxes. They are being fined for all sorts of BS that their own companies do, but it is not illegal.
Yeah actually in the EU it is illegal which is why they got fined.
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
Imagine if all of Europe suddenly was cut off from Google Services, Gmail, Maps, and the Play Store. I'm tired of foreign countries attempting to hurt American companies.
Are you aware that there is actually a movement in the US that people sign up to to remove Google from their online lives? If Europe was cut off from Google Services they'd just use one of the plethora of alternatives. Remember the only reason you have the WWW and that Google exists at all is thanks to the British creator of HTML and the European foundation CERN.
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
Sorry. Did you have anything cogent to say?
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Not paying any in fines is very easy. As well is it easier to pay the morally correct amount of taxes.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Remember the only reason you have the WWW and that Google exists at all is thanks to the British creator of HTML and the European foundation CERN.
Do you really think nobody else would've figured out how to transmit formatted text over the internet?
That's like saying aliens wouldn't have rockets because Wernher von Braun lived on Earth.
If Google pulled out of the EU then the shareholders would revolt and the greatest corporate shitstorm ever known would ensue. The EU market is vast and highly profitable. Quitting is just leaving huge sums of money on the table.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
This is a joke, right?
"All taxes should be paid at point of revenue"
Okay - so I buy a chocolate - and pay tax where I buy it. Yep checks out.
Okay - so I buy a song - and pay tax at my house. Yep checks out.
Okay - so I travel to the EU and buy a song and pay tax in the EU. Pay tax in the EU from my US phone transaction from a US company... Uh...
Okay - so I am referred to a Japanese site from a US company from my French search. The Japanese site paid a UK company for the referral. The French search was from a different US company, which outsources referral technology to the UK. I did not make a purchase. Who pays what tax now?
..They are being fined for all sorts of BS that their own companies do, but it is not illegal....
What are you talking about? I said that BOTH Americans and European companies are doing this stuff, it is just that the European govs are going after the American companies.
You suggested that the EU is unfairly fining US companies and not fining European ones for getting up to the exact same shenannigans the US companies are pulling, or, in other words the usual: Bwwwaaaaaaaahhhhhh. UNFAIR!!! ... whining that seems to be so in vogue with US conservatives these days.
Here are some companies that have been fined by the EU for all kinds of dirty tricks over the last few decades:
Daimler (German)
Scania (Swedish)
DAF (Dutch)
Saint Gobain (French)
Philips (Dutch)
LG Electronics (South Korean)
Volvo/Renault (Swedish/French)
Iveco (Italian)
Deutsche Bank (German)
F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Swiss)
The list is much, much longer and it consists of many European and Asian companies. The EU is not singling out US companies for 'unfair' treatment, it's more that US companies get away with murder in the US, with the help of US politicians to screw the US public, and they think they can get away with it everywhere else too. Well think again.
Yeah actually in the EU it is illegal which is why they got fined.
Well it's illegal in the USA as well. However the prosecutors don't go after companies for antitrust laws without actual proven dollar value impact on specified consumers, a bar which is incredibly high to meet.
Well that it news to me I always belivedthat it is themember states that do the taxsation, foes the EU realy tax any entety directly? Inthis context thas is impotant because if the EU dos not tax anyone, butissues fines it wouldbe rather easyto pat themmoreinfinesthan i taxes.
As Zen boy shows, the top 5 fines against companies come against American companies .5B, but apparently, so does Qualcomm and now, the EU justice. .5B for killing ppl, but otherwise doing the same thing? No. That makes no sense.
Lets look at them.
1) Microsoft was fined more than Servier, who likely cost ppl's lives. Please.
2) Good with going after Qualcomm/Apple. I do think that 1.2B was excessive considering that Servier was
3) Intel being charged 1.45 B for lowering their price to get others to use Intel over AMD? Please. That is pure competition at work. Thankfully, EU Justice is look at it, and will likely either kill it or cut it way down
4) Totally great with EU going after Google for the Google shopping. That entire episode is the very definition of monopoly abuse, just like Servier was. Of course, 2.7B strikes me as excessive considering that BOTH Servier and Telefónica were fined about 1/6 and 1/10 of that. However, there is no doubt that all 3 were abusive monopolies.
5) Then you have the recent Android action. Google allows you to install android, as you see fit.
HOWEVER, if you want Google's help AND Play store, then you have to agree to install Google's apps. I see nothing wrong with that.
Of course, paying them to install only Google's android as well as search is an issue. BUT, $5B, when they charge servier
So, yeah, this IS about going after American tech companies.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
good posting. Thanx.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
U would think so.
I continue to suggest that we should have the Delivery service pick up a sales tax on shipped goods.
Of course, you then run into services. I can see companies simply shifting their services to other nations to avoid having to pay taxes, but it strikes me as bizarre that the west is NOT working together to prevent all of this.
I get why EU is doing the massive penalties on American companies. Basically, it is their current approach to get the taxes they believe owed. BUT, until we stop the tax havens that are designed purposely to hide taxes (such as Ireland, Luxembourg (funny considering they are the seat of EU), Switzerland, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, etc) then little will change.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Don't attribute malice to that which is most likely caused by just not giving a fuck.