Amazon Italy Faces Tax Evasion Investigation

Amazon’s Chief for Italy and Spain Francois Nuyts confirmed on Tuesday (March 15) that the eCommerce site in Italy is at the center of a probe for allegedly committing tax evasion.

According to Bloomberg, Nuyts said the company is cooperating with the investigation but did not provide any additional details about the ongoing case.

“Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction where we operate, including Italy, and we are cooperating fully with the Italian authorities,” Nuyts explained to Bloomberg.

“ECommerce is a low-margin business, and Amazon is in a phase of heavy investment so profits are slim,” he continued. “We are a retailer with a low-margin business, and taxes are due on corporate profits. We invested over €15 billion in Europe in the last six years alone.”

Amazon isn’t the first U.S. tech company to face allegations of illegal tax practices in Italy, and this news also isn’t the first time the eCommerce giant has found itself in hot water with tax issues overseas.

Late last year, The Guardian reported that Amazon and eBay may have conspired with vendors to avoid paying value-added tax (VAT) on products sold and shipped in the U.K.

An investigation conducted by the newspaper found that many nominally VAT-free vendors with addresses listed in China, Hong Kong and the U.S. may have been using falsified information to skirt U.K. tax law when importing goods ahead of the holiday shopping season.