Amazon tax bill in Europe during Covid likely to put multinationals and Ireland back in spotlight          

Amazon posted massive sales in Europe during lockdown but paid little or no corporation tax to many governments. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Amazon posted sales of €44bn in Europe as its business boomed during the Covid lockdowns last year, but paid little or no corporation taxes to many governments across the continent, new filings reveal. 

The revelation is likely to be seized upon by campaigners who are calling for a global overhaul of the small or no amounts multinationals pay in corporation tax in countries where they generate huge amounts of sales. Luxembourg and Ireland have long been in the firing line for supposedly facilitating accounting practices that help multinationals lower their corporate tax bills.