This afternoon.
Via The Irish Times:
Liam Kavanagh, managing director of The Irish Times, said the agreement with Google was “a welcome acknowledgement of the value of trusted news sources in modern democracies”.
“It means titles in The Irish Times Group have more support to provide high-quality, independent journalism to a wider audience,” he said.
The Irish Times Group has agreed terms with Google which will allow access to content from all titles in the group available through Google News Showcase when it launches in the Irish market later this year.
Google signs deal with Irish Times and other Irish partners to promote news (Irish Times)
Meanwhile…
Google shifted more than $75.4 billion (€63 billion) in profits out of the Republic using the controversial “double-Irish” tax arrangement in 2019, the last year in which it used the loophole.
The technology giant availed of the tax arrangement to move the money out of Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company via interim dividends and other payments. This company was incorporated in Ireland but tax domiciled in Bermuda at the time of the transfer.
The move allowed Google Ireland Holdings to escape corporation tax both in the Republic and in the United States where its ultimate parent, Alphabet, is headquartered. The holding company reported a $13 billion pretax profit for 2019, which was effectively tax-free, the accounts show.
A year earlier, Google Ireland Holdings paid out dividends of €23 billion, having recorded turnover of $25.7 billion.
Google has used the double Irish loophole to funnel billions in global profits through Ireland and on to Bermuda, effectively putting them beyond the reach of US tax authorities.
Companies exploiting the double Irish put their intellectual property into an Irish-registered company that is controlled from a tax haven such as Bermuda.
Ireland considers the company to be tax-resident in Bermuda, while the US considers it to be tax-resident here. The result is that when royalty payments are sent to the company, they go untaxed – unless or until the money is eventually sent home to the US parent.
Google used ‘double-Irish’ to shift $75.4bn in profits out of Ireland (Arthur Beesley, Irish Times, April 17, 2021)