Amazon wins $303-million court fight in blow to EU tax crusade

Amazon won its fight against an EU order to pay about 250 million euros ($303 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg in a blow to competition chief Margrethe Vestager’s crusade against preferential deals.

The setback renewed calls from EU lawmakers for a global corporate tax deal and legal analysts said Vestager was unlikely to give up her pursuit of large companies over the amount of tax they pay.

The bloc failed to show that Luxembourg had given the US online retailer special treatment in violation of state aid rules, the EU’s General Court ruled on Wednesday.

Its ruling follows last year’s landmark defeat for Vestager against Apple, which had contested an order that it pay 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in Irish back taxes.