Uber paid scientists in Europe and US to influence media | Now

A British newspaper reported that Uber paid scientists hundreds of thousands of dollars to write reports favorable to the taxi company. Guardian Based on published documents. There will also be signs that Dutch tax authorities have bent the rules in favor of Uber.

There has been a lot going on around Uber over the past few days. Because a former employee of the company leaked tens of thousands of documents to various media in the Netherlands and abroad.

Among other things, Uber has paid several prominent professors in Europe and the United States to write reports on how positive Uber’s business model is. In Europe, this happened in France and Germany. It is unclear whether Dutch scientists were also involved.

Reports should show that Uber offered higher wages, fun jobs, cheaper transportation and productivity. Reports suggest that Uber is involved in its development.

Uber has come under fire for UberPop

This mainly concerns the years in the middle of the last decade. During that period, Uber came under considerable fire, particularly for its UberPop service. Anyone can provide taxi services without a license using the platform. The company also launched the service in the Netherlands, which is against domestic and foreign regulations.

Uber wants to continue anyway and wants to apply political and social pressure to adjust the rules to allow UberPop. Reports of paid scientists were used for this. In addition to paying scientists, the company also hired former European Commissioner Neely Grosz.

He joined the firm in 2016 as a lobbyist. But before it became official, he had already started talking to politicians about Uber. It is against European lobbying rules. The European Commission has now asked Groce to provide more information about its operations to the transport company.

The French president has also been critical

Croce isn’t the only high-profile politician under fire. French President Emmanuel Macron has also criticized. He is said to have been in close contact with Uber during his tenure as Economy Minister. Opposition parties now feel that he is focusing too much on big companies.

As stated therein FD The Tax and Customs Administration is also said to support Uber, whose European headquarters are located in Amsterdam. Leaked documents in the newspaper’s possession show that the company has deliberately delayed information requests from other countries.

In addition, employees of the tax authorities sent important information to the transport company and the service argued for favorable tax treatment for Uber in other countries. The company itself says in the documents that it had a “highly valued relationship” with the Dutch tax authorities.

The IRS denies the allegations

The IRS denies the allegations. The service says it does not delay information requests from other countries. The Tax and Customs Administration has been in touch with other countries and Uber on tax-technical matters, but no rules have been violated.

Uber did not deny the allegations, but said in a statement that it has become a completely different company since the middle of the last decade, in part because then-CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as CEO in 2017. The company also reports that most of the current employees started working after Kalanick left.

Gross also denies the allegations. He points to his role as a special ambassador for start-ups.

There is also a defense from Macron’s camp. It is true that he was involved with companies during his ministry, but for him it was a logical move for an economy minister. Nothing unacceptable happened during the contact period.