By Jamie Klaum
Contributing Writer

The Internal Revenue Service, IRS, sued Facebook for $9 billion worth of unpaid taxes. The trial began on Feb. 18 and is expected to continue for a few weeks. 

According to TheVerge, the case revolves around a deal Facebook made in 2010 with an Irish subsidiary to move money around internationally. The IRS claims Facebook did not reveal the full amount of properties it sold, thus evading the real sum of tax payments. 

The New York Times reported that Facebook executives will be called to personally testify in court.

CNET says Facebook’s head of communication shared in an interview that they “stand behind the actions taken over a decade ago,” and they look forward to “the case in court and putting an end to the years-long dispute.” 

Ireland is a popular country for technology businesses to store money because of the low corporate tax rates. 

Other large companies like Google and Apple have used similar tactics to avoid paying taxes and have faced lawsuits, TheVerge says. Larger technology companies often open smaller companies around the world and are reimbursed by the smaller companies for access, trademarks and sales.

Facebook allegedly underrepresented how much the smaller companies paid them between 2010 and 2016, according to CNET. Facebook credits the low values to its lack of ‘international expansion’ back in 2010.

Companies worth more than KU’s tuition, continue to avoid taxes, yet college students pay a large portion of income to the IRS.

KU sophomore Morgan Parker said, “It’s a good way for the rich to stay rich and the poor to stay poor.”

The trial will continue to unfold in San Francisco for the upcoming weeks.