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France: State vows to tax Google more than UK

By  |  February 2, 2016

France has ruled out striking a deal with Google over back taxes, raising the likelihood of a bigger tax bill for the US company than the payment agreed with the UK.

The £130m settlement struck between Google and the UK government earlier this month “seems more the product of a negotiation than the application of the law,” Michel Sapin, French finance minister, said on Tuesday at a conference in Paris. “The French tax administration does not negotiate the amount of taxes owed. It applies the rules.”

As a result, the amount Google will end up paying France will be “way bigger” than the UK settlement, the French socialist minister said.

Mr Sapin’s uncompromising stance contrasts with the UK government’s desire to draw a line under a six-year tax dispute with what is now the world’s biggest company by enterprise value.

Full content: The Financial Times

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