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Amazon won court case on back tax

Amazon won court case avoiding EU back tax

Amazon won the case about back taxes of Euro 250 million against EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at EU General Court. The court said the EU had failed to show that Luxembourg had given Amazon special treatment violating state-aid rules.

“The Commission did not prove to the requisite legal standard that there was an undue reduction of the tax burden of a European subsidiary of the Amazon group,” the court said.

Amazon said the ruling was in line with its “long-standing position that we followed all applicable laws and that Amazon received no special treatment”.

In a separate case on Wednesday, French utility Engie lost its appeal against an EU order to pay back taxes of Euro 120 million to Luxembourg.

“All companies should pay their fair share of tax. Tax advantages given only to selected multinational companies harm fair competition in the EU. They also deprive the public purse and European citizens of funds for much needed investments to recover from the coronavirus crisis and seize the twin transitions”, Vestager said in a statement.

INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE TAX

“As regards Amazon in Luxembourg, the Commission’s decision concerned a tax ruling issued by Luxembourg to Amazon, by virtue of which three quarters of the profits made from all Amazon sales in the EU went untaxed until 2014. We will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.”

“The Commission is using all tools at its disposal to fight unfair tax practices. State aid enforcement works hand in hand with the EU’s legislative action to address loopholes and ensure transparency in fiscal matters.”

“We are close to achieving a historic global agreement on the reform of the international corporate tax framework. Moreover, the Commission is in the process of putting forward a proposal for a digital levy, so that companies benefiting from the digital Single Market fairly contribute to the EU budget. We need to seize the momentum to progress towards fair taxation at all levels.”

 

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