U.S. Internet giant Google should not be held liable for over one billion euros ($1.13 billion) in back taxes in France, an independent court advisor recommended to French judges, a court official said on Tuesday.
The court advisor said Google does not have “permanent establishment” or sufficient taxable presence to be left on the hook for 1.115 billion euros in back taxes, the official said.
Judges at a Paris administrative court are due to hand down a ruling in the case in the first half of July, the court official told Reuters.
Prosecutors opened a preliminary tax fraud investigation in 2015 and Google’s Paris offices were raided by investigators in May 2016. The company has said it fully complies with the law.
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Google, now part of Alphabet (GOOGL), pays little tax in most European countries because it reports almost all revenues in low-tax Ireland.