Google Inc. (GOOG): No Passwords, but Yes on Swiss Taxes?

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) may still be basking in the success of its quarterly earnings report this week, but it continues to make some news. On this Friday morning, the tech giant is continuing a crusade, while another European country is getting in line on the continent’s own crusade for tax revenue.

LET’S PASS ON THE PASSWORDS

OK, so it isn’t a secret that Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been undergoing a nearly three-year-long battle to eliminate passwords as a system of verification on a majority of Web sites. But a tech writer posted Friday morning that a research paper regarding a protocol for online verification is due out in the next few days, that is designed to shed light on the company’s latest project designed to eliminate the need for passwords.

This latest project is supposedly involves a finger-ring, a piece of authentication hardware and a protocol that would link those pieces to the various web sites. The paper is being prepared by Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) executive Eric Grosse and engineer Mayank Upadhyay, who are also expected to discuss authentication by a device – like using a smartphone or tablet’s IP address to verify a user’s identity.

GIVE THE SWISS MORE CHEESE!

Various countries in the European Union have targeted multinational companies like Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), which have legally found loopholes in EU taxation rules to minimize their tax bills in individual countries. Well now, non-EU member Switzerland, which houses the largest Google headquarters outside the U.S., is beginning a push to get more tax revenue from Google. Due to the loopholes, though Google has a headquarters in Zurich, pays “virtually no” corporate taxes to Switzerland, thanks to channeling much of its revenue through more tax-friendly locations.

Is this another case of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) skirting tax rules?

Switzerland has been criticized for its taxation system, which supposedly gives favorable benefits to companies based on local factors like the numbers of jobs created.  However, a Zurich tax official denied that conditions are deliberately favorable, and Switzerland will begin discussios with Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to secure a reasonable amount of tax based on revenue and profits in the country.

Another Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) day, another taxation claim by a country. Give us your feedback in the comments section below. What are your thoughts about getting rid of passwords? A nobel pursuit, or do you see some privacy or security concerns? Let us know!

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.

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