A PYMNTS Company

Italy Goes After Meta For Alleged €870 Million in Unpaid Taxes

By  |  February 22, 2023

Italian regulators are probing Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. for alleged unpaid VAT taxes for a total of about €870 million ($927 million), according to Reuters.

Milan magistrates requested the probe to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which asked the Guardia di Finanza police and the Italian Revenue Agency to check if there is a case for user registrations to be subject to tax.

Read more: Meta Completes VR Acquisition After Winning Antitrust Case

“We strongly disagree with the idea that providing access to online platforms to users should be charged with VAT,” a Meta spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Italy’s tax police and revenue agency calculated a model under which Meta would have had to pay around 220 million euros of sales tax in Italy in 2021, according to the sources.