Online retail giant, Amazon, will pay taxes on sales made in major European markets after agreeing to declare sales in the respective countries instead of Luxembourg. Amazon’s tax agreement in Luxembourg, under which it recorded European sales and paid taxes on them in the tiny country instead of at the source, had attracted widespread criticism that the giant was trying to evade taxes. It even sparked an EU probe. “More than two years ago, we began the process of establishing local
country branches of Amazon EU Sarl, our primary retail operating company in Europe,” the company said in a statement.
“As of May 1, Amazon EU Sarl is recording retail sales made to customers through these branches in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
“Previously, these retail sales were recorded in Luxembourg. We are working on opening a branch for France.”
Amazon has also drawn attention in Australia for its tax policies.
Amazon is among several large companies under the spotlight in Europe over tax deals in Luxembourg and elsewhere.
The EU is investigating tax deals involving US tech giant, Apple, in Ireland, coffee shop chain, Starbucks, in the Netherlands, and Amazon, and Italian automaker, Fiat ,in Luxembourg.
AFP
