Google 貼牌冰箱（Google Refrigerator） (Photo credit: Aray Chen)

Tax Avoidance By Google

In 2011, Google Inc. avoided some $2 billion of income tax payments by moving its revenues to a shell company in Bermuda. Google actually shifted almost $10 billion in profits from its overseas subsidiaries to Bermuda. Since Bermuda does not have corporate income taxes, Google benefited by cutting its tax rate by half.

However, this tax avoidance has not gone over well with Governments in both the United States and Europe, which are both struggling with huge deficits. Just recently, the governing body of the European Union requested its members to adopt rules for anti-abuse and to list tax havens for blacklisting.

Richard Murphy, who is a director and accountant at Tax Research LLP in Norfolk in England, shared that Google's tax strategy, as well as other multinational companies, is a sore point for the European governments. Murphy further stated that people are understanding that Google's non-payment either means that the other taxpayers have to make up for it or services will have to cut.

Alternatively, Google states that it is compliant with all relevant tax regulations and the various European countries have seen benefits of its investments. The company has some 2,000 employees in the UK and has invested millions to support the growth of tech businesses in East London.