Amazon will pay taxes on sales in EU nations

Online retailer Amazon said it has started declaring sales made in major European markets in the respective countries instead of Luxembourg. This means, it will pay taxes on the sales in the nations itself, instead of paying them for all in Luxembourg alone.

Under a tax agreement in Luxembourg, Amazon recorded European sales and paid taxes on them in the tiny country of Luxembourg, instead of at the source of sales. This had attracted howls of criticism that the giant was trying to evade taxes, and had sparked a EU probe. So, the online retailer decided to declare the sales in UK, Germany, Spain and Italy, and pay taxes on them in the respective countries.

"More than two years ago, we began the process of establishing local country branches of Amazon EU Sarl, our primary retail operating company in Europe. As of May 1, Amazon EU Sarl is recording retail sales made to customers through these branches in the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy," the company said in a statement. The company is also working on opening a branch for France.

Amazon is among several large companies under the spotlight in Europe over tax deals in Luxembourg and elsewhere.
The EU is investigating tax deals involving US tech giant Apple in Ireland, coffee-shop chain Starbucks in the Netherlands, and Amazon and Italian automaker Fiat in Luxembourg.

Online retail giant Amazon has started declaring sales made in major European markets in the respective countries instead of Luxembourg, meaning it will pay taxes on the sales in the nations.