According to press reports, a fine against Amazon is coming from Brussels. The American e-commerce giant could soon be sentenced to pay back illegitimate state aid to Luxembourg following a controversial tax deal with the Grand Duchy dating back to 2003.
Over the years, some member countries have offered advantageous tax conditions to large multinationals, allowing them to direct profits where taxation was particularly low.
The Commission sees in these agreements possible illegitimate state aid, and has already acted in relation to the cases of Apple in Ireland, Starbucks in the Netherlands and Fiat in Luxembourg.
According to the British press, the company founded by Jeff Bezos will be called upon to give back 250 million euros.
In addition to the Amazon case, disputes regarding McDonald's and Engie still remain open. All three events involve Luxembourg.
The American giant wasted no time, promptly responding to the accusations coming from Brussels and declaring that it is ready to appeal: "We believe that we have not received any special treatment from Luxembourg and that we have paid taxes in full compliance with Luxembourg tax legislation and international".
“Our 50 employees across Europe – it is written in a note – remain focused on offering the best service to our customers and to the hundreds of thousands of small businesses”.
The response from the Luxembourg government also arrived promptly: "the Commission's decision refers to a period that goes back to 2006, in the meantime both the international and Luxembourg legal framework has substantially evolved".
The official statement adds that given that Amazon was taxed "in accordance with the tax rules applicable at the time, Luxembourg considers that the company was not granted state aid incompatible with the EU Treaty". The note concludes by indicating that Luxembourg "cooperates fully with the Commission and is strongly committed to combating harmful tax evasion and in favor of transparency".
Trouble ahead for Apple too, always with regard to potentially illegal tax agreements. Last August 2016, Brussels had asked the Irish government to recover state aid paid to Apple for 13 billion euros.
Dublin, which is afraid of creating disagreements that could hinder large multinationals from investing in the country, has been officially deferred by Brussels, while Washington has accused the Commission of penalizing American companies.
Updated at 14:55, 04.10.2017
