Although the company, Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, was registered here, for the purposes of paying tax it was based in Bermuda.

The accounts state that because it was tax resident in Bermuda, the firm did not have to pay any tax, as the standard rate there is 0%.

It was the last year that the company availed of the so-called “double-Irish” tax arrangement, before it changed its tax structure.

The company, which has no employees, has become tax resident in Ireland since the start of this year under its revised arrangements.

In 2014 the Government announced that the “double-Irish” loophole would be phased out, with companies that were already using it able to continue to do so until last year.

“In December 2019, in line with the OECD’s BEPS conclusions and changes to US and Irish tax laws, we simplified our corporate structure and started licensing our IP from the US, not Bermuda,” a Google spokesperson said.

“The accounts filed today cover the 2019 financial year, before we made those changes.”

“Including all annual and one-time income taxes over the past ten years, our global effective tax rate has been over 20%, with more than 80% of that tax due in the US.”

The accounts show that Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company is a subsidiary of Singapore based Google APAC Technology Pte. Ltd, whose ultimate parent is Alphabet Inc.

Until November 2019 the activities of the company were that of a holding, management, trading investment and intellectual property licencing business, with its turnover derived from the licensing of intellectual property to a subsidiary.

But in November of 2019, the company distributed intellectual property licence rights to its immediate parent, along with other intangible assets and equity investments, worth a total of $15.5bn.

The following month, the company also distributed the bulk of its debt security investments and other financial assets worth a total of $29.7bn.

During the year it also approved and paid dividends and distributions worth $30bn to its immediate parent, up from $22.9bn.

In total, Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited paid out dividends and other payments worth $75.4bn in 2019, up from $22.9bn a year earlier.

Since the end of 2019 its main activities have been that of a holding company.

During 2019, the company’s turnover rose to $26.5bn from $25.7bn a year earlier, primarily due to the increase in turnover recorded by its subsidiaries, which resulted in higher royalty payments.

It made a profit before tax of $13.7bn, down from $15.5bn a year earlier.

However, it did not have to pay any tax on that because it was tax resident in Bermuda.

Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited is not the main company through which Google runs its local operations.

In 2019, the last year for which accounts are available, that firm Google Ireland paid €263m in tax here.