Symantec owes €800m, says IRS
The US Internal Revenue Service has gone to court claiming that Symantec, which employs 650 people in Ireland, should have reported higher income at its American operations, but took advantage of the low rate of corporation tax in Ireland to reduce its liabilities.
The IRS is seeking €600m in back taxes and almost €284m from Symantec and its subsidiary Veritas, which is fighting the claim in the US tax court.
The case centres on the complex issue of “transfer pricing” — how firms recognise inter-company transactions.
Symantec has rejected the allegations by the IRS, calling the claim for €800m was “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable”.
The US authorities are concerned that companies are using foreign subsidiaries to avoid higher taxes and Ireland has been repeatedly cited as a major tax shelter.
