Watch out Zillow, Trulia, Estately, Redfin and every other company that’s trying to make a buck on online real estate. Google appears to be getting more serious about the real estate search game — at least in Australia and quite possibly in the backyard of many of Seattle’s real estate upstarts.

In a blog post today, the company’s Australia unit announced a tighter integration between Google Maps and online real estate listings, allowing those shopping for a home to see properties for sale. The new offering also allows users to limit the search by neighborhoods, bedrooms, price and other factors — a function found on many other online real estate sites.

But this is Google — the 800 pound gorilla in the Internet search game. And, according to Search Engine Land, some of those same features have begun to appear on Google Maps in the U.S. too.

For example, a search for "Seattle real estate" in Google Maps allows people to see thousands of for sale listings. It is unclear whether this is a new feature, but Search Engine Land’s Matt McGee writes that it is a "more comprehensive version" of the real estate search than Google has ever shown before.

Zillow.com spokeswoman Amy Bohutinsky said that Google appears to be enhancing its real estate listings, something she said the search titan has been doing for more than a year.

And while that could pose a threat to the Seattle startup, Bohutinsky said that Zillow is different because it focuses on every home in the U.S., not just those for sale.

A number of Web sites already offer for sale listings, with Bohutinsky adding that for sale listing sites are a "dime a dozen." She said Zillow wants to serve as a resource through every part of the home ownership process, whether buying, selling, refinancing or remodeling.

As to Google’s more serious entree into the category, Bohutinsky said that it shows that "people are going online and searching for real estate."

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and How the Seattle data center fire caught companies unprepared  

Allrecipes.com had been working for the past year to build geographic redundancy into its online systems, planning to open a new co-location facility in New York by the end of August.

Last week, the wisdom of that plan became clear — but not in a good way. Allrecipes was among dozens of sites shut down by the fire and subsequent power outage at Seattle’s Fisher Plaza data center.

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and Amazon.com gets slapped with $119 million tax bill in Japan  

Amazon.com has been engaged in a well-publicized battle with various states over sales tax issues. Now comes word that the online retail giant is facing a new tax headache in Japan. Japanese tax officials are serving up a $119 million tax bill to an Amazon company for unreported income over three years, according to published reports.

From MarketWatch:

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has determined that two Japanese wholly-owned subsidiaries of Amazon.com have in effect acted as branch offices of the affiliate, Amazon.com International Sales Inc., and now owe taxes for the three years through December 2005, the reports said.

The two subsidiaries — Amazon Japan Logistics K.K. and Amazon Japan K.K. — are commissioned to carry out merchandise distribution and other functions. The company has booked sales posted in Japan as those of the Seattle-based company, while paying only U.S. taxes on the sales.

It looks like Japanese authorities are taking a similar tack to states here in the U.S., which have been looking to categorize Amazon as a physical retailer through ts work with locally based marketing affiliates, thus forcing it to collect sales tax (though Amazon has responded by closing some affiliate programs).

Amazon made reference to its Japan tax issues in its last annual report:

In addition, in 2007, Japanese tax authorities assessed income tax, including penalties and interest, of approximately $119 million against one of our U.S. subsidiaries for the years 2003 through 2005. We believe that these claims are without merit and are disputing the assessment. Further proceedings on the assessment will be stayed during negotiations between U.S. and Japanese authorities over the double taxation issues the assessment raises, and we have provided bank guarantees to suspend enforcement of the assessment. We also may be subject to income tax examination by Japanese tax authorities for 2006 through 2008.

Looks like this skirmish is far from over.

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On the brink of collapse, Targeted Genetics cuts Bothell lease  

Targeted Genetics, a Seattle biotech company that is struggling to survive, said it has terminated a 76,000 square foot lease for a Bothell manufacturing facility that it never built or occupied. As part of the deal, the company will be released from about $12 million in payment obligations in exchange for a $500,000 termination fee.

"This settlement reduces our monthly expenses and, more importantly, enables us to record a non-cash entry that reverses approximately $7 million of restructuring charge liabilities from our balance sheet," said B.G. Susan Robinson, president and chief executive officer in a statement. "This significantly increases our net worth and removes a considerable impediment to charting our path forward."

After laying off staff, cutting executive pay and reducing other expenses, Targeted Genetics remains on the brink. And despite the renegotiated lease, the company still must raise more cash if wants to survive.

At the end of March, the company had just $3.9 million in cash and cash equivalents on the books. Its working capital balance was $185,000.

At the time, Targeted said that it only had enough cash fund operations into August.

 

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