Italy probing Amazon over 1.2b euros in third-party seller VAT / Photo: Ina FASSBENDER - AFP/File
-
Amorim's Milan beaten by Benfica, Sunderland make dream European return
-
Man Utd misery mounts after League Cup collapse against Brighton
-
US stocks fall, dollar gains after Fed lifts interest rates
-
Turkey releases 106 protesters, jails more LGBTQ activists
-
Seahawks rule out Darnold for Sunday game at Arizona
-
US Fed raises rates to tackle 'too high' inflation in move sure to rile Trump
-
Mbappe explains Ceuta shirt stance after criticism
-
England were 'waiting for death' in World Cup semi-final defeat: Tuchel
-
Improving Atletico cruise to comfortable win over Osasuna
-
NFL star fined for displaying name of slain Palestinian girl
-
Candidate for UN chief calls for AI regulation akin to nuclear weapons
-
Witsel retires from internationals after 18-year Belgium career
-
O'Neill expects Celtic recovery after Old Firm misery
-
US Fed raises rates to battle inflation in move likely to rile Trump
-
Man City midfield trio backed to emulate Rodri and Silva
-
Fitzpatrick 'not comfortable' over Dubai golf finale
-
'We're losing control,' AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio tells AFP
-
Gaza apartment block collapse kills 21, including 12 children
-
WHO eyes 'encouraging' signs in DRCongo fight against Ebola
-
Gaza apartment block collapse leaves 21 dead
-
Liga boss criticises Real Madrid trio for Ceuta shirt incident
-
US House targets data centers as midterm backlash grows
-
WTA Finals moved to Charlotte from 2027
-
French ex-minister Dati goes on trial in Renault-Nissan corruption case
-
Almost 8,000 excess deaths in France's scorched summer: statistics
-
'Being Heumann' captures joy in fight for disability rights
-
Ex-president's lengthy war crimes sentence shocks Kosovo
-
Retired great Nadal to play in exhibition matches
-
US House faces test on sweeping Russia sanctions bill
-
IR-MED and Dice Technologies Announce collaboration to Evaluate and Advance Pressure-Injury Prevention Platform in Japan
-
British PM says to make 'difficult decisions' as inflation rises
-
Watts, Pitt, Cruz to light up Spain's top film festival
-
TotalEnergies pumps up controversy in France with cut-price gas
-
Sweden expels Iran embassy employee over anti-Jewish threats
-
Global fuel price demos: a round-up
-
Toogood Gold's Table Mountain Sits in the Shadow of a Nevada Gold Rush
-
Leverate Launches MCP for Traders to Connect AI Assistants With Trading Platforms
-
MEXC July–August Security Report: 38.66M USDT in Risk Funds Intercepted, Futures Insurance Fund Hits 792M USDT
-
MEXC Launches $1M "Discover Your Wall Street DNA" Campaign to Help Traders Find Their Market Fit
-
'Breathing toxin every day': Indonesians choked by haze feel helpless
-
Emporio Armani names Dario Vitale new creative director
-
Stocks edge higher ahead of US Fed rate call
-
Maresca defends VAR officials after Man City benefit from error
-
Philippines ex-leader Duterte makes first in-person ICC appearance
-
Courts jails LGBTQ activists as Turkey crackdown widens
-
2027 Formula One calendar includes Monaco sprint race
-
French court to hear Depardieu's appeal against rape trial order: sources
-
Palestinians are the real victims, Thunberg tells Ed Sheeran
-
The German state premier hoping to halt far-right surge
-
Hashim Thaci: From 'George Washington of Kosovo' to Hague convict
Italy probing Amazon over 1.2b euros in third-party seller VAT
Italian prosecutors are examining whether online giant Amazon.com evaded 1.2 billion euros in value-added tax (VAT) it should have paid on behalf of certain third-party sellers, sources told AFP Monday.
The total claim against the online retailer, including penalties, could rise to as much as three billion euros ($3.14 billion), a source in Italy's financial crimes police said.
The preliminary investigation, confirmed by a source within the Milan prosecutors' office, involves a three-year period from 2019 to 2021.
An Italian law in 2019 made e-commerce businesses responsible for the VAT owed by its third-party sellers outside the European Union selling goods to customers in Italy.
Previously, these third-party sellers were responsible for paying the tax.
The Italian law came ahead of a reform of EU e-commerce rules, which took effect in July 2021, that sought to simplify how online platforms collect VAT.
A review of transactions from 2019 to 2021 by Italy's financial crime police found "unpaid VAT" by Amazon amounting to 1.2 billion euros, a source at the force told AFP.
"If you add to this sum the penalties... you get up to three billion euros," the source said.
The police investigation, begun in the spring of 2024, wrapped up in December.
Amazon said it would not comment on ongoing investigations, but said it was "committed to complying with all applicable tax laws".
The Seattle-based tech company added that it had paid direct and indirect taxes of 1.4 billion euros to Italy in 2023.
A preliminary investigation by prosecutors does not necessarily lead to charges.
The Italian investigation comes as US President Donald Trump, who has railed against his country's trade deficit with the EU, has threatened the bloc with reciprocal tariffs.
He has said that VAT -- which is not a tariff but a consumption tax irrespective of the origin of the good -- could be subject to a reciprocal levy.
The EU measure that made online platforms liable for the tax obligations of third-part sellers was designed to ensure fair competition for the bloc and recoup lost VAT.
The reform also removed an exemption on collection of the tax on low-value goods.
J.AbuHassan--SF-PST
