French police, tax authorities search Microsoft offices

French authorities are probing Google for potential tax avoidance, a source close to the matter said Tuesday, with the US Internet giant facing a possible bill of over 100 million euros ($132 million).

French minister Frederic Lefebvre and Microsoft on Saturday announced a partnership to cultivate promising Internet startups in France.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday he wants "Internet giants" to pay tax in France, shortly before he was due to meet the founder of the micro-blogging site Twitter.

France's federation of telecommunications operators called Tuesday for the introduction of a "Google tax" on foreign firms like Google that benefit from French infrastructure.

The French government on Wednesday kickstarted plans for a so-called carbon tax on energy-hungry products, to be rolled out by 2011 as part of France's efforts to slash global warming emissions.

The European Commission referred France to the Court of Justice Wednesday due to tax breaks granted to France Telecom.

(AP)—Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is promising to unveil "something special" Monday in New York as she tries to attract more traffic and advertising to the Internet company.

(AP)—The Canadian government is trying to lure Silicon Valley tech workers who are frustrated by U.S. visa policies, just as Congress wrestles with a long-sought overhaul of America's immigration system.

(AP)—Bloomberg LP, the financial news and information service, on Friday said it has appointed Samuel Palmisano, the former CEO of IBM, as an independent adviser on its privacy and data standards.

Apple and US lawmakers are gearing up for a showdown over taxes—specifically how to deal with the huge stockpile of cash held by Apple and other multinational firms offshore.

Yahoo! scheduled a news conference Monday amid reports it was in talks on with the popular blogging platform Tumblr about an acquisition or strategic alliance.

(AP)—Tableau Software shares soared in their trading debut Friday after the company and some of its investors raised about $254.2 million in its initial public offering.