Google CEO slams tax laws after European raids

The tech company has been in the spotlight recently after raids were carried out in their European offices in Paris and Madrid in which tax officials were hoping to prove that Google has unpaid taxes on sales it has made in these countries.

Speaking with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Pichai said that Google had put a lot of money into Europe, employing 14,000 people across the continent.

“As a global company, we find ourselves between the conflicting priorities of international tax law," he told the paper.

"Based on the structure of existing tax law, most companies pay the bulk of their taxes in their home countries," Pichai insisted, adding that individual governments would have to take action if they wanted more revenue to stay at home.

“Only the further development of the global tax system by politicians can lead to better results,” he said.

Google pays its taxes in Ireland, where the corporation tax is a very low 12.5%.

In January, the company settled a £130mn 10 year tax agreement with British chancellor George Osborne, a deal heavily criticized as insufficient compared to the revenue it generates in the country.

Tech giants like Google, Amazon and Apple have faced criticism over their tax obligations as many of the firms take advantage of tax breaks by using countries such as Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg for their European headquarters.