E.U., Citing Amazon and Apple, Tells Nations to Collect Tax
- 7 years ago
E.U., Citing Amazon and Apple, Tells Nations to Collect Tax
“We believe that Amazon did not receive any special treatment from Luxembourg,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding
that it “paid tax in full accordance with both Luxembourg and international tax law.”
Amazon said it would study the commission’s ruling and was considering whether to appeal
In the case of Amazon, the commission said that Luxembourg had conferred “an advantage on Amazon,” one
that the company “obtained every year” and that was “granted in a selective manner.” That arrangement essentially capped the amount of tax that the retailer paid, and relied on a method known as transfer pricing.
The move by Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, came as regulators ordered Luxembourg
to collect around 250 million euros, or about $293 million, in unpaid taxes from Amazon, the online retail behemoth.
The European Commission said that Amazon had abused this system by sending most of its European revenue to a Luxembourg subsidiary
that was not liable to pay corporate tax, helping the company cut its overall bill.
In the latest move, Ms. Vestager ordered Luxembourg to reclaim back taxes from Amazon linked to an agreement between the country and the retailer
that the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said dated to 2003.
BRUSSELS — Europe’s competition chief said on Wednesday
that she was taking Ireland to court over the country’s failure to collect a huge bill for back taxes from Apple, as officials from the Continent mounted a push against alleged abuses of regional tax rules by Silicon Valley giants.
“We believe that Amazon did not receive any special treatment from Luxembourg,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding
that it “paid tax in full accordance with both Luxembourg and international tax law.”
Amazon said it would study the commission’s ruling and was considering whether to appeal
In the case of Amazon, the commission said that Luxembourg had conferred “an advantage on Amazon,” one
that the company “obtained every year” and that was “granted in a selective manner.” That arrangement essentially capped the amount of tax that the retailer paid, and relied on a method known as transfer pricing.
The move by Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, came as regulators ordered Luxembourg
to collect around 250 million euros, or about $293 million, in unpaid taxes from Amazon, the online retail behemoth.
The European Commission said that Amazon had abused this system by sending most of its European revenue to a Luxembourg subsidiary
that was not liable to pay corporate tax, helping the company cut its overall bill.
In the latest move, Ms. Vestager ordered Luxembourg to reclaim back taxes from Amazon linked to an agreement between the country and the retailer
that the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said dated to 2003.
BRUSSELS — Europe’s competition chief said on Wednesday
that she was taking Ireland to court over the country’s failure to collect a huge bill for back taxes from Apple, as officials from the Continent mounted a push against alleged abuses of regional tax rules by Silicon Valley giants.