The Indonesian government reached a settlement with Google in a long-running dispute over allegations the tech giant avoided paying millions of dollars in taxes, The Jakarta Post reported.
“We already have an agreement with them based on the 2016 annual tax return form, but we can’t disclose the figure,” finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
In September 2016 Indonesia’s tax office said it would investigate Google for not paying taxes on billions of dollars of advertising revenue over the past five years. The tax office alleges Google Indonesia paid less than 0.1 per cent of the total income and value-added taxes it owed in 2015. The Directorate General of Taxation estimates Google’s revenue reached IDR6 trillion in 2015.
The tax authority said Google owes about IDR5 trillion ($376 million) in back taxes and penalties.
Indonesia’s government, eager to find new tax sources to boost state revenue, started negotiations with Google earlier in the year, but the talks soon stalled, The Jakarta Post said.
The tax authority in Jakarta threatened Google with legal action in January for failing to hand over transaction data for the tax investigation.
Google faces similar tax threats around the world. Shortly after Indonesia’s tax office said it was investigating the company, Thailand’s Finance Ministry announced it was working to tighten its tax rules for internet and technology companies like Google.
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