Google denies €1bn tax claim report

Google has denied a newspaper report it had received a €1bn tax claim from the French authorities arising out of the billing of French customers from Ireland.

The weekly Le Canard Enchaine said the French Tax Administration was looking into whether Google’s practice of charging French advertisers via its European headquarters in Ireland led it to underpay taxes in France.

European Union rules on freedom of trade within the bloc generally allow firms to freely sell into one EU market from another.