Amazon should not pay $268 million in Luxembourg back taxes: EU court advisor

Amazon should not pay 250 million euros ($268 million)in back taxes to Luxembourg as ordered by EU competition enforcers, an adviser to Europe’s top court said on Thursday, as she cited errors in the EU regulator’s assessment.

The European Commission in its 2017 decision said Amazon paid no taxes on almost three-quarters of its profits from EU operations due to a Luxembourg tax arrangement allowing it to channel profits to a holding company tax-free.

The EU antitrust watchdog equated the tax deal to illegal state aid. However, a lower tribunal in 2021 scrapped the EU decision, dealing a blow to EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager’s crackdown on preferential deals.