It goes without saying that no one really likes taxes. However, taxes are an unfortunate part of reality. This is why companies find all kinds of ways to avoid paying their taxes or at least reduce them as much as possible. Sometimes, this works, and sometimes, it doesn’t. Unfortunately for Google, it didn’t work out so well in Italy. However, Google has agreed to pay $340 million to settle an ongoing tax case against the company.
Google’s tax settlement
Google has agreed to pay €326 million (approximately $340 million) to settle a tax dispute with Italian authorities. This covers the period from 2015 to 2019. According to prosecutors, this settlement includes sanctions, penalties, and interest. Italian authorities had previously alleged that Google did not file and pay taxes on revenue generated in Italy.
This is not the first time Google has faced tax-related issues in Italy. In 2017, the company settled a similar dispute by paying €306 million, addressing claims that it had a permanent establishment in the country. Then, back in June 2024, Italian authorities demanded €1 billion in unpaid taxes and penalties from Google.
That being said, Milan prosecutors plan to drop the case against Google following this settlement.
Brushes with the law
If you thought that were all the brushes with the law Google has encountered, think again. For a company as massive as Google, it is bound to face scrutiny by various government agencies and regulatory bodies.
One good example would be back in September 2024. The European Court of Justice upheld a €2.4 billion fine against Google for antitrust violations related to its comparison-shopping service. The court ruled that Google had abused its market dominance by favoring its own service over competitors in search results.
Another example would be in 2020 when Google agreed to a €1 billion settlement in France to avoid criminal prosecution over tax evasion allegations.
More recently, there have been talks about breaking Google up and spinning off some of the company’s products and services into individual companies, including selling off products such as Chrome.