EU steps up probe into Amazon tax affairs

Amazon’s tax affairs are back in the limelight as the European Union publishes details of its probe into a sweetheart deal with Luxembourg.

The European Commission will release a non-confidential version of a letter outlining suspicions that the online retailer unfairly shifted profits to lower its taxes, it said yesterday. The letter was sent to Luxembourg officials as the EU opened a formal probe into the Amazon tax accord on October 7.

Most European profits of Amazon are recorded in Luxembourg but are not taxed there as a result of a 2003 tax ruling, which is still in force today and applies to a subsidiary in the country, the EU said at the time.