Russia is considering a move to raise taxes on international Internet company Google, business daily Vedomosti reported Friday citing unnamed government sources.
The issue was discussed at a meeting initiated by former Communications Minister and Kremlin aide Igor Shchyogolyev and attended by officials from the Kremlin and the Communications Ministry and representatives from Russia's parliament and watchdog Roskomnadzor, Vedomosti said.
The participants concurred that foreign Internet companies, including Apple and Google, do not pay enough tax, Vedomosti reported citing an unnamed source.
A higher tax bill in Russia is not the only problem facing Google. Russia's competition watchdog said last month that it was re-opening an anti-monopoly case against the company after a complaint by Russian's biggest search site, Yandex, about Google's mobile platform.
Authorities in Europe have also stepped up pressure on Google's European operations in recent months due to concerns over the California-based company's tax arrangements and market dominance.