Alphabet's (GOOGL) Paris Office Raided For Alleged Tax Fraud

The nightmare doesn’t seem to end for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in Europe as it remains a major subject of scrutiny. Officials raided Alphabet-owned Google’s French headquarters on Tuesday searching for evidence of "aggravated tax fraud" and money laundering.

According to the French daily Le Parisien, which first reported the news, a team of 100 investigators were involved in this early morning raid.

According to a February Reuters report, the French authorities have sought $1.76 billion as back taxes from the tech giant and the raid appears to be related to this tax issue.

In January, Google reached an agreement with U.K. tax officials to pay nearly $190 million in British back taxes and make changes in the style of calculating its UK tax bill.

It appears that the UK settlement is bothering French officials as Google paid such a small amount as back taxes in its second biggest market.

The move is an attempt to prevent US-based companies and others across the globe from using complex tax-avoidance schemes to shift profits abroad and reduce tax bills.

A statement from the prosecutor's office today read, "The investigation aims to verify whether Google Ireland Ltd. has a permanent base in France and if, by not declaring parts of its activities carried out in France, it failed its fiscal obligations, including on corporate tax and value added tax.”

In response, Google stated, “We comply with the tax law in France, as in every other country in which we operate. We are co-operating fully with the authorities in Paris to answer their questions, as always.”

Other major tech companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) have also been investigated earlier in Europe for scrimping on their tax bills.

According to Action Alerts PLUS senior analyst Scott Berman, these legal troubles are less likely to affect Google’s position as one of the most profitable companies of the world.

Currently, Alphabet is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.

A better-ranked stock in the broader technology space is Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).