Google's Paris headquarters raided in tax probe

(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

published 24 May 2016

Roughly 100 French investigators raided Google's headquarters in Paris Tuesday morning as part of an ongoing tax fraud investigation, Reuters reports. A source close to France's finance ministry has confirmed the raid, but Google has yet to make a comment. The French state is accusing the tech company of owing $1.8 billion in back-taxes, following a close scrutinization of international companies' tax arrangements.

Google, along with other large digital companies, has been accused of using "legal methods to minimize their tax bills," BBC reports. While Google, for instance, generates large profits in France and the UK, its tax base is in Ireland, where corporate tax rates are lower.