TikTok Parent Company ByteDance Disputes $5 Billion Government Fee in Deal with Oracle

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has emphasized that it will remain in control of the TikTok Global business which appears to contradict President Trump’s recent statement that the entity will be direct by Americans and pay a $5 billion fee to the U.S. government.

Bloomberg reports that TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has emphasized that it will remain in control of TikTok Global which was recently founded to meet the Trump administration’s demands that an American firm stays in control of the app and it’s user data.

President Trump recently granted preliminary approval for a deal in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok in the United States, allowing the app to continue to operate within the country.

Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for North Carolina, President Trump stated: “I have given the deal my blessing — if they get it done that’s great, if they don’t that’s okay too. I approved the deal in concept.”

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would delay the prohibition of U.S. transactions with TikTok until next Sunday as the deal is officially reviewed and approved. Before President Trump’s comments, Oracle announced that it was chosen as TikTok’s secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor in the company with a 12.5 percent stake.

Now, ByteDance appears to be disputing claims by President Trump that TikTok Global will be directed by Americans and that the company will pay a $5 billion fee to the U.S. government. In a blog post entitled “clarifying groundless rumors about TikTok,” ByteDance contest the President’s assertions that the TikTok will be paying $5 billion to the U.S. government.

ByteDance stated that the figure was an estimate of the amount of taxes TikTok Global would pay over several years if the business was successful. ByteDance is currently seeking a valuation of $60 billion for TikTok Global in which ByteDance may end up owning as much as 80 percent after investments from Oracle and Walmart.

In the recent blog post, ByteDance stated: “As for the so-called $5 billion tax to the U.S. Treasury, that refers to an estimate of the corporate income tax and other taxes TikTok will have to pay in coming years as part of its business development. TikTok is confident in its future but the actual tax amount will have to be determined in accordance with the actual state of the business and American tax structures.”

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