Google Funnelled €128 Billion From The Netherlands to Bermuda

GOOGLE is said to have funnelled €128 billion from the Netherlands through a Dutch subsidiary to the tax haven of Bermuda over eight years.

The tech company in the Netherlands paid more than 25 million euros in tax on this, writes the NOS, based on the last published annual report of that Dutch subsidiary.

Google says the money has since been returned to the United States. It is unclear how much tax the company has paid for this. Tax avoidance is not illegal, but in recent years the pressure on multinationals to quit has increased.

The tax scheme, which has since been stopped, revolved around paying fees for Google’s intellectual property. These royalties ended up in the Netherlands through subsidiaries in Ireland and Singapore and the Dutch subsidiary sent the money to Bermuda where no tax is levied.

The amount may be greater than 128 billion because the construction had existed since 2004. However, only annual reports from 2012 can be found at the Chamber of Commerce.