Seoul Appeals Court Sides With Google Korea in Corporate Tax Dispute

An appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling siding with Google Korea in a corporate tax cancellation case worth over 150 billion won ($103 million). The Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the company, which had requested cancellation of corporate taxes levied in 2020.

Tax authorities had imposed corporate and local income taxes totaling around 154 billion won on Google Korea, citing its transfer of some income to Google Asia Pacific based in Singapore. Google Korea argued in court that the funds in question were part of Google Asia Pacific's business income and therefore not subject to taxation in South Korea.

The lower court had rejected the tax authorities' argument.

The appellate court dismissed a request for the cancellation of local income taxes. It ruled that there was no practical benefit because local income taxes are linked to corporate taxes. The decision marks the latest tax cancellation case involving a major global tech company in the country.

, ordering authorities to cancel 68.7 billion won in taxes. A file photo taken on Feb. 9, 2024 shows a Google logo at a pop-up store in Seoul.