E.U. Said to Order Luxembourg to Collect Back Taxes From Amazon<br />The agreement between Amazon and Luxembourg effectively capped the amount of tax Amazon paid,<br />and relied on a method called transfer pricing, according to the commission.<br />At the time, the commission said that, in a deal struck in 2003, authorities in Luxembourg had conferred “an advantage on Amazon.” The commission added<br />that the “advantage is obtained every year and ongoing,” and that it “is also granted in a selective manner.”<br />Amazon does business across the 28-nation bloc, but lists its European headquarters as Luxembourg, a tiny country with a population of around 500,000.<br />BRUSSELS — European Union officials will order Luxembourg to collect back taxes from the online retail giant Amazon, a source with knowledge<br />of the decision said Tuesday, the latest in a series of moves where Brussels has sought to flex its regulatory muscle over Silicon Valley.<br />Both Amazon and Luxembourg’s finance ministry have previously denied that the online retail giant received special tax treatment or benefits.<br />The investigation into Luxembourg’s handling of Amazon was made public in 2014, and the commission issued a preliminary finding the following year.
