Amazon Settles Italy Tax Row

Amazon has agreed to pay the Italian taxman €100 million ($118 million) to settle a dispute over suspected tax fraud, the Italian revenue service said, AFP reported. Italian authorities have been investigating Amazon for tax evasion in the period between 2011 and 2015, but the deal meant the case is now closed, it said in a statement. Citing investigators, Italian media reported in April that Amazon had established a mechanism to declare some €130 million of Italian profits in Luxembourg, which has a much lower corporate tax rate. Italy has previously forced other US internet giants to pay up for taxes owed, including Apple, which in December 2015 agreed to pay €300 million to end a tax fraud investigation. Last May, Google agreed to pay €306 million. The tax authorities said Friday that they would now seek “preventative agreements” with Amazon to ensure that the company properly pays its taxes on Italian earnings. It also “confirmed its commitment to a policy of fiscal control concerning Italian operations of internet multinationals”.