The British newspaper reported that Uber paid scientists hundreds of thousands of dollars to write reports that reported the taxi company Watchman Based on the published documents. There may also be indications that the Dutch tax authorities have broken the rules in favor of Uber.
In the past few days, there’s a lot to do about Uber. This is because a former employee of the company leaked tens of thousands of documents to various media in the Netherlands and abroad.
It shows, among other things, that Uber has paid several prominent professors in Europe and the United States to write reports on how positive the Uber business model is. In Europe, this happened in France and Germany, among other countries. It is not clear whether Dutch scientists were also involved.
The reports were supposed to show that Uber provided high-paying, fun jobs, cheap transportation, and productivity. Reports stated that Uber was involved in its creation.
Uber has come under fire for UberPop
This mainly relates to the years in the middle of the last decade. During that period, Uber came under a lot of fire, especially because of the UberPop service. Using this platform, anyone can provide taxi services without a license. The company also launched this service in the Netherlands, which goes against domestic and foreign rules.
Uber wanted to continue anyway and apply political and social pressure to amend the rules so that UberPop would be allowed. Paid scientists’ reports were used for this. In addition to paying scientists, the company has also published former European Commissioner Nellie Kroes.
She joined the company in 2016 as a lobbying member. But before this became official, she had already started talking to politicians about Uber. This is against European pressure rules. The European Commission has now asked Kroes to provide additional information about its activities to the carrier.
He also criticized the French president
Kroos is not the only politician under heavy criticism. French President Emmanuel Macron has also been criticized. He was in close contact with Uber during his tenure as Minister of Economy. Opposition parties now believe he is paying too much attention to big business.
according to fed The Tax and Customs Administration is also said to have committed itself to Uber, whose European headquarters are in Amsterdam. The leaked documents, also in the newspaper’s possession, show that the agency deliberately delayed requests for information from other countries.
In addition, employees of the tax authorities transmitted important information to the carrier and the service demanded favorable tax treatment for Uber in other countries. The company itself states in the documents that it has a “very valuable relationship” with the Dutch tax authorities.
The IRS denied the allegations
The IRS denies the allegations. The service says it has not delayed requests for information from other countries. Tax and Customs Administration has made contact with other countries and with Uber on technical tax issues, but no rules have allegedly been violated.
Uber does not deny the allegations themselves, but states in a statement that it has become an entirely different company since the middle of the last decade, in part due to CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick stepping down as CEO in 2017. The company also stated that the vast majority of current employees started working Only after Kalanick left.
Cross also denied the allegations. She mentions her role as a special ambassador for startups.
There is also a defense from Macron’s camp. It is true that he was in contact with companies during his ministry, but according to him this is the logical course of action of the Minister of Economy. Nothing unacceptable would have happened during the call.
