Following a long-running case centred on the appropriate amount of corporation tax Google should pay on its sales in Italy, the search engine giant has agreed to pay a sum of €306m to the Italian tax authorities.

The move follows a separate agreement with the tax authorities in the UK, where Google agreed last year to pay £106m in back taxes. It is also currently engaging with authorities in France and Spain.

The Italian settlement brings into sharp focus again, the amount of corporation tax paid by Google in Ireland where its Europe, Middle East and Africa HQ is registered and based. There are growing demands both at European Commission and individual government level to apportion Google’s tax payments to reflect where it makes its sales.

This followed a criminal probe which alleged that Google booked some €1bn of revenue generated in Italy in its Irish office between 2009 and 2013.

"We have also begun the process of drawing up an agreement that will ensure Google pays the correct taxes in Italy in the future," the country's tax authority commented.

In 2015, the last year for which accounts are available, Google Ireland generated sales to the value of €22.6bn – about a third of its total income that year – but only paid €48m in tax here.

Additional reporting by Vincent Wall