Google Revenues Moved to No-Tax Bermuda Reaches $10 Billion
engine
8:58 pm on Dec 10, 2012 (gmt 0)
Google Inc. (GOOG) avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenues into a Bermuda shell company, almost double the total from three years before, filings show.
By legally funneling profits from overseas subsidiaries into Bermuda, which doesn’t have a corporate income tax, Google cut its overall tax rate almost in half. The amount moved to Bermuda is equivalent to about 80 percent of Google’s total pretax profit in 2011. Google Revenues Moved to No-Tax Bermuda Reaches $10 Billion [bloomberg.com]
lucy24
10:49 pm on Dec 10, 2012 (gmt 0)
Idle query: What does Bermuda-- or other island of your choice-- get out of this?
SevenCubed
11:22 pm on Dec 10, 2012 (gmt 0)
^ The owners of those billions to go visit their money a few times a year and spend mega tourist dollars while they are there?
superclown2
7:57 pm on Dec 11, 2012 (gmt 0)
They are not the only ones by any means and what they are doing is perfectly legal. Unethical perhaps but in their place I think most of us would do the same.
ChanandlerBong
10:07 pm on Dec 11, 2012 (gmt 0)
I've enjoyed tracking the progress of Google's corporate morality.
Don't be evil Do no evil Try not to be evil Be as little evil as possible Be evil only in exceptional circumstances Be evil only in financially exceptional circumstances Don't be evil unless there's megabucks in it Be evil if the FTC allows it Do evil only in sunny places if there's a buck in it for us Let's see what various island states' tax law loopholes allow us to do Go to hell everyone - we're off to Bermuda with suitcases of loot. Woohoo!
johnhh
10:38 pm on Dec 15, 2012 (gmt 0)
and all those taxes avoided affect...YOU
Sgt_Kickaxe
5:48 am on Dec 20, 2012 (gmt 0)
Just owning a Bermuda shell company speaks volumes about your company. Trust? They don't seem too worried about it.
martinibuster
7:46 am on Dec 20, 2012 (gmt 0)
...what they are doing is perfectly legal. Unethical perhaps...
Let's be frank. It is unethical. It is unethical to take advantage of laws that were paid for with campaign contributions and/or lucrative positions on corporate boards when key politicians retire and other backdoor forms of compensation for corporate-friendly legistlation. These corrupt but legal methods are how tax loopholes favorable to the wealthy happen. The loopholes are legal but they were bought and paid for by lobbyists in Washington D.C.
backdraft7
4:07 pm on Dec 26, 2012 (gmt 0)
@ChanandlerBong - hilarious and so true! thanks for the laugh, I needed it!
@martinibuster - agree 100% - it sickens me to hear the echo's of Page's "love letter", then to hear this news. You want our love Larry? distribute that 2 billion to the Mom & Pop businesses you destroyed in 2012.
