The Spanish authorities have opened a new investigation into possible tax evasion by Google, broadening the scrutiny of the American technology giant in Europe.
The authorities visited the company's offices in Madrid on Thursday as part of the inquiry, according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. It was unclear whether the officials had questioned executives or had taken documents. The inquiry was reported earlier by the Spanish news media.
The new investigation adds to a long list of inquiries into corporate tax practices in Europe, where the authorities are broadly looking into whether American companies like Google, McDonald's and Amazon, among others, improperly shifted profits across the region to reduce their tax payments. The companies deny any wrongdoing.
In late May, French tax authorities raided Google's offices there, saying the company was under investigation for aggravated financial fraud and organized money laundering. Italian authorities are looking into whether the company did not pay a sufficient amount of tax.
In a statement, Google said that it complied with the tax laws of every country in which it operates.
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