Google’s Irish subsidiary has agreed to pay €218m (£183m) in back taxes to the Irish government, according to company filings on Thursday.
The US tech giant, which had been accused of avoiding hundreds of millions in tax across Europe through loopholes known as the “Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich”, said it had “agreed to the resolution of certain tax matters relating to prior years”.
Google Ireland Ltd said it would pay corporation tax of €622m in 2020, including the €218m backdated tax settlement and interest charges. The previous year Google Ireland paid taxes of €263m.
The company, which is part of parent company Alphabet, promised last year that it would ditch the “Double Irish, Dutch sandwich” strategy, which allowed it to effectively shuffle revenues made across Europe offshore to places like Bermuda, where the tax rate was zero. A Bloomberg investigation showed that the scheme allowed Google to cut its overseas tax rate to just 2.4%.
Google did not explain the reason for the back tax payment in its accounts and did not respond to request for comment. In the filing it said only: “Subsequent to year-end, the company agreed to the resolution of certain tax matters relating to prior years. This tax liability and associated interest are recognised in the current financial year.”
Paul Monaghan, chief executive and the Fair Tax Foundation, said: “There really is a disgraceful lack of transparency around Alphabet’s tax conduct, especially at the level of the Irish subsidiaries. Stakeholders have a right to know what this Irish corporation tax settlement relates to.
