Google avoids paying $2bn in taxes

Google has avoided about $2bn (€1.55bn) in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8bn (€7.6bn) in revenues into a Bermuda shell company — almost double the total from three years before — filings show.

By legally funnelling profits from overseas subsidiaries into Bermuda, which does not have a corporate income tax, Google cut its overall tax rate almost in half.

The amount moved to Bermuda is equivalent to about 80% of Google’s total pretax profit in 2011.