Uber Payment in Engineer Bankruptcy Carries Tax Bill, Judge Says

Anthony Levandowski, one of Google LLC’s early self-driving engineering pioneers, is on the hook to pay taxes on Uber Technologies Inc.'s multimillion-dollar payment tied to a $179 million claim between the companies as part of his bankruptcy plan.

The ride-hailing company’s payment of an undisclosed sum as part of Levandowski’s bankruptcy plan satisfied a debt the Silicon Valley engineer owed to Google and therefore constituted taxable gross income, Judge Hannah L. Blumenstiel of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California ruled Jan. 24.

Blumenstiel’s ruling is a win for the California Franchise Tax Board and the US ...