BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities found three companies linked to Google Inc broke tax rules and are investigating possible tax avoidance, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Thursday, raising the risk of fresh pressure on the Internet search giant.
Google, the world’s largest Internet search company, said two of the companies named were its units, and a third was a separate firm that works closely with Google.
But Google denied the tax violations alleged in the Chinese-language Economic Daily.
“We believe we are, and always have been, in full compliance with Chinese tax law,” Google said in a statement responding to Reuters’ questions.
Even if the report is unfounded or embellished, it could bring fresh headaches in China for Google, which has gone through difficult times there since early last year when it quarreled with the one-party government over Internet censorship and hacking attacks.
China generates a small percentage of Google’s revenues, but is the
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