London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Google Used 'Double Irish' Loophole to Dodge Billions in 2019 Taxes

Google Used 'Double Irish' Loophole to Dodge Billions in 2019 Taxes

Under the now-outlawed "double Irish" tax dodge, corporations transferred their intellectual property to holding companies registered in Ireland but run from tax havens like Bermuda, which siphoned off profits through royalty fees.

Google's European division used the "double Irish" tax haven loophole to dodge tens of billions in tax there and in the US in 2019, newly-filed accounts reveal.

The Big Tech giant took advantage of the sunset clause on the now-defunct corporate tax scheme to avoid tax on profits of $75.4 billion (€63 billion) in payments in both its home country and Ireland.

US-based parent company Alphabet used interim dividends and other payments to move money out of shell company Google Ireland Holdings, which was incorporated in Ireland but domiciled in Bermuda for tax purposes at the time.

That allowed Alphabet to declare a pre-tax profit in the US for that year of just $13 billion — which was effectively tax-free.

Google Ireland, the main operating company with some 4,000 staff, declared profits of €1.94 billion in 2019 after revenues of €45.7 billion, paying just €263 million in tax.

The so-called "double Irish" fix involved corporations registering their intellectual property (IP) in a company registered in Ireland but controlled from a tax haven such as those dotted around the Caribbean. Royalty payments to the company for that IP are taxed neither in the country where the group is headquartered or in Ireland, only in the tax haven — unless they are re-exported.

Ireland banned the dodge in 2015, but controversially allowed companies already using it a five-year grace period until the end of 2020.

Google insisted it had transferred its IP holding to the US, and that 2019 was the last year it exploited the loophole.

“In December 2019, in line with the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) conclusions and changes to US and Irish tax laws, we simplified our corporate structure and started licensing our IP from the US, not Bermuda," a Google spokeswoman said. "The accounts filed today cover the 2019 financial year, before we made those changes."

“Including all annual and one-time income taxes over the past ten years, our global effective tax rate has been over 20 per cent, with more than 80 per cent of that tax due in the US,” she claimed.

But in 2018 Google Ireland Holdings paid out dividends of €23 billion after filing a turnover of turnover of just $25.7 billion (€21.5 billion). And accounts state that Google Ireland Holdings only became tax-resident in Ireland on January 1 2021.

European Union member state Ireland's corporate tax rate of 12.5 per cent — just over half the average across the bloc — has made it an attractive base for transnationals' European operations.

GOOGLE European headquarters buildings in Dublin

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×