Facebook The Latest Big Tech Company With Tax Problems

Facebook Inc FB is the latest big-name tech company to answer questions regarding its tax bill. This week, the U.S. Justice Department filed a petition to force Facebook to comply with an investigation into property the company transferred to an Ireland subsidiary for tax purposes back in 2010.

The legal filing states that the IRS believes Facebook accounting firm Ernst & Young may have “understated” the value of the property by “billions of dollars,” according to CNN Money.

Facebook isn’t the only big U.S. tech company whose tax practices have been questioned by regulators.

Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL was investigated back in 2011 regarding tax issues in Spain. Earlier this year, Italian officials claimed that Google owed them €300 million in back taxes. The French government also says that it will not negotiate with Google and expects the full amount of back taxes it feels the company owes.

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In addition to Google’s European tax woes, Microsoft Corporation MSFT found itself in a similar boat as Facebook last November when a judge ordered the company to comply with IRS requests for documents related to large-scale tax audit.

The Justice Department is racing the clock if it wants to file any charges against Facebook related to the matter under investigation. The statute of limitations on the property transfers reportedly expires on July 31.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.