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Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

reuters.com

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Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#91

Post by patrickaljord »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #75
josephg wrote: post #16

I would expect google to keep all financial documents inside Google Drive. In doing so, I wonder what is left in the office for the Spanish authorities to find in a raid? (Google is ruthlessly paperless internally.)

Spain, and other Euro countries, have "paper" laws. Everything needs to be printed out and stored to make raids like these easier on the government. It also keeps their tax authority from ever having to worry about modernizing and, frankly, makes it easier for the government to manufacture "irregularities." I think the financial crisis in some of these EU countries have reached a point where they are politically para…

Not sure why you're being downvoted. I'm French and totally agree with your views except maybe that right wings here are just as leftist economically so I'm very pessimistic for the future.

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#92

Post by CaptSpify »

pyrale wrote: post #89
josephg wrote: post #16

I would expect google to keep all financial documents inside Google Drive. In doing so, I wonder what is left in the office for the Spanish authorities to find in a raid? (Google is ruthlessly paperless internally.)

I'm not sure the solution to google being perceived by states as running tax laundering schemes is to adopt anti-investigation measures.

How was his question anti-investigation?

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#93

Post by deelowe »

jordanb wrote: post #48

Why can't Spanish (and French) authorities simply subpoena any info they need from Google? Is Google able to shield relevant data by keeping it in Ireland or the US?

Because these raids are PR stunts. Tax laws are setup in such a way that by LEGALLY taking advantage of various incentives, a multinational company can vastly reduce it's tax burden. Individual countries are somewhat powerless to do anything b/c they'd have to have some sort of power to influence the tax laws of other countries (not going to happen).

This is why there's so much talk over international agreements.

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#94

Post by Thimothy »

sheraz wrote: post #5

Remember that Google was also raided in Paris almost exactly one month ago [1]. [1] - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/24/google-of...

I'm going to hazard a guess. The french did found something useful to crack google down in that raid and gave their buddies in Spain a nudge so they can combine the efforts and maybe strike a big one against the Double Irish.

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#95

Post by fwn »

teekert wrote: post #68
cmdrfred wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting idea. Keep the door closed, once opened (reed switch?) Write 0's to memory then pull power to the workstation. Just be sure to save your work before you go to the bathroom.

Yeah, don't cooperate with poor countries that just want taxes to be payed by civilians as well as mega rich companies. Not very nice. What would destruction of evidence get them (from a justice standpoint) in Spain?

"Poor" Spain.

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#97

Post by pns »

ForHackernews wrote: post #22
josephg wrote: post #16

I would expect google to keep all financial documents inside Google Drive. In doing so, I wonder what is left in the office for the Spanish authorities to find in a raid? (Google is ruthlessly paperless internally.)

Google Docs sets browser cookies. If you have a surprise raid with logged-in workstations, you have access to Drive documents as well.

If hard drive is encrypted (and like most companies like Google, almost certain they would be), then you wouldn't be able to get much unless you someone got them to disable screensavers/computer sleep and keep the machines on for awhile

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#98

Post by drzaiusapelord »

>Not sure why you're being downvoted.

HN is pretty intolerant of anything that isn't the far left, which is a bit ironic for what's supposed to be an entrepreneurial forum. This change seemed to happen a year or two ago. I suspect HN has been fully "redditized" now with college identity politics being the prominent narrative. The drive-by downvotes are just a symptom of that.

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#99

Post by spacehome »

ComodoHacker wrote: post #96

IMO Google is so rich and so profitable that it could afford to pay all taxes due in all countries fairly, without any "optimization", while staying profitable and not undermining any R&D program or long-term project.

As a Google shareholder, I'm quite happy that they optimize everything within the bounds of the law.

Re: Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax

#100

Post by collyw »

dluan wrote: post #82
adrianN wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that true for almost everything though? The laws are so complex that no normal citizen can understand them. Even lawyers seem to disagree now and then.

Tax law is a math problem. Google is a company run by math nerds. Of course they are going to solve for X.

Its also a law problem, so I would have expected Apple to have solved it first.
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