Sky News: Spain’s tax investigators have raided Google’s Madrid offices in a probe into tax payments, according to the Reuters news agency.
In response, Google has insisted that the company complies with Spanish finance laws and has agreed to co-operate with authorities and answer all questions.
The operation was carried out only weeks after a similar raid on Google offices in Paris which involved more than 100 investigators and 25 computer experts.
The Spanish authorities were yet to comment on today’s developments.
A number of EU countries, including France and Britain, have long complained at the way a number of technology firms generate profits within their borders by locating tax bases where corporate tax rates are far lower.
In January, the company agreed to pay £130m in back taxes in the UK – a move described as a victory by the Chancellor though critics said the sum was derisory.
Ahead of its raids on the company, France had let it be known it was seeking €1.6bn – then worth £1.2bn to taxpayers – in back taxes.
Google’s European operations are based in Ireland, which has some of the lowest corporate tax rates in the region.
