Google, others join Apple on hot seat over taxes

Bloomberg

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), based in Mountain View, Calif., is also drawing scrutiny for its tax practices.

Jen Wilson, Associate Editor/Online- Charlotte Business Journal

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook may have been singled out on the hot seat this week over the tech giant?s tax practices, but Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and other corporate heavy-hitters are skirting the system as well, Bloomberg reports.

For example, Google funnels profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda to cut its income tax bill by about $2 billion annually, according to the report. Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX), which makes the antidepressant drug Lexapro, software company Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and fellow tech player Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) have also drawn scrutiny over similar practices.

Such shifting of profits by multinational companies costs the United States and Europe some $100 billion annually in lost tax revenue, Reed University economics professor Kimberly Clausing told Bloomberg.

Cook acknowledged at a congressional hearing Tuesday that using an offshore subsidiary is part of Apple?s tax strategy. But he maintains the company has done nothing wrong and, earlier this week, he suggested changes to the U.S. tax system that would increase the amount of income tax Apple pays.

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