Corporations tend to have a rather nasty habit of being less than honest about where their money is going. They owe the governments of the countries that they are operating in taxes but they often avoid giving this money up by using a wide variety of tricks. These tricks include things like shell companies which are on paper companies that don’t serve any other purpose than to be the recipients of funds along with tax havens which are basically countries that have very loose financial regulations that companies can use to their advantage in many ways.
Even Google tends to take part in activities like these, especially because it is technically a legal thing to do. The tech giant filed with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce which revealed that in 2017 they funneled no less than 23 billion dollars into Bermuda, a known tax haven, through a Dutch shell company. This shell company was Google Netherlands Holdings BV.
Basically Google sends as much as money as it can to Bermuda where it has Google Ireland Holdings, a company that does not pay taxes thanks to Bermuda’s non-existent tax laws regarding corporations. This allows them to save a great deal of money that they would have otherwise had to pay to the various governments of the countries that they are operating in.
Google is not the only tech company that does this. Apple does it too. Indeed, this is such a problem that America recently lowered its corporate tax rates to entice companies to keep their profits in America. Companies will have to be held accountable for their actions, especially when you consider just how much money they end up earning every year thanks to the current regulations.
Photo: Cassie Kifer
Even Google tends to take part in activities like these, especially because it is technically a legal thing to do. The tech giant filed with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce which revealed that in 2017 they funneled no less than 23 billion dollars into Bermuda, a known tax haven, through a Dutch shell company. This shell company was Google Netherlands Holdings BV.
Basically Google sends as much as money as it can to Bermuda where it has Google Ireland Holdings, a company that does not pay taxes thanks to Bermuda’s non-existent tax laws regarding corporations. This allows them to save a great deal of money that they would have otherwise had to pay to the various governments of the countries that they are operating in.
Google is not the only tech company that does this. Apple does it too. Indeed, this is such a problem that America recently lowered its corporate tax rates to entice companies to keep their profits in America. Companies will have to be held accountable for their actions, especially when you consider just how much money they end up earning every year thanks to the current regulations.
Photo: Cassie Kifer
